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THE   ADVENTURES  OF 

LOUIS  DE   ROUGEMONT 


LOUIS    DE    ROUGEMONT 


L^ 


The  Adventures  of 

Louis  de  Rougemont 

As  Told  by  Himself 


With  Forty-six  Illustrations 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

1 900 


GUT 


F 


ii.^^\  e  Y  es 


/9D0 


Dedication 

To  my  Devoted  Wife, 

YAMBA, 

The  Noblest  Work  of  the  Creator, 

A   GOOD   WOMAN, 

And  to  her  People,  my   True  and  Steadfast  Friends^ 

ivho  never  ivavered  in   their   confidence  or 

attachment,  and  to  ivhom   I  onve  the 

Preservation  of  my  Life, 

THIS   WORK 
Is  gratefully  Dedicated 


M872035 


PREFACE 


As  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  writer  of  these  lines  to 
^  *•  'discover"  the  remarkable  man  whose  adven- 
tures are  dealt  with  in  this  volume,  a  few  words 
about  M.  de  Rougemont's  first  appearance  in  the 
editorial  offices  of  the  ''Wide  World  Magazine" 
may  be  of  interest. 

It  was  about  four  in  the  afternoon  of  a  late 
spring  day  when  a  timid  tap  came  at  my  door,  and 
a  man  of  striking  appearance  entered.  Without  a 
word  he  handed  me  a  note  from  my  friend  Mr.  J. 
Henniker  Heaton,  M.P.,  whom,  it  appeared,  he  had 
seen  two  or  three  times  at  the  Carlton  Club.  My 
visitor  explained  that  every  one  in  Sydney  had 
advised  him  to  seek  out  the  well-known  M.P.  on 
arrival   in   London. 

I  questioned  the  man.  He  said  he  had  a  remark- 
able story  to  tell — thirty  years  among  the  cannibals 
of  unexplored  Australia.  His  manner  was  quiet 
and  courteous  and  his  accent  foreign.      Adroit  traps 


X  PREFACE 

set  for  him  in  conversation  only  resulted  in  the 
absolute  conviction  that  he  was  speaking  the  truth, 
and  actually  had  experienced  the  adventures  he 
spoke  of.  My  shorthand  writer  commenced  taking 
down  the  story  next  day,  and  it  is  acknowledged 
on  all  hands  that  no  narrative  of  adventure  ever 
published  contains  so  extraordinary  an  amount  of 
incident  in  it — incident  of  so  remarkable  a  kind, 
and  so  abundant  in  detail,  that  it  is  impossible 
to  suppose  it  could  never  have  happened  to  the 
narrator. 

Next  I  introduced  M.  de  Rougement  into  scien- 
tific circles,  in  the  sincere  belief  that  his  narrative 
would  be  of  interest  and  value  to  the  sciences  of 
Geography  and  Anthropology.  There  was,  however, 
another  obvious  motive  which  it  would  be  absurd 
on  my  part  to  ignore.  A  few  weeks  later  M.  de 
Rougemont  was  the  most  discussed  man  in  all 
Europe.  The  Swiss  Cantons  glowed  with  pride  on 
his  account,  and  the  great  journals  of  France,  point- 
ing to  the  world-renowned  man,  threw  back  at  us 
our  old  gibe  that  a  Frenchman  cannot  successfully 
colonise   or   rule   savage   races. 

There  are  many  men  in  England  who  know 
Australia.  Most  of  these  wanted  to  get  at  De 
Rougement  in  order  to  overwhelm   him  ;  many  had 


PREFACE 


XI 


the  opportunity,  and  were  soon  converted  into  de- 
voted adherents.  The  man  was,  in  fact,  a  veritable 
Mahdi  among  the  sceptics — those  sceptics,  that  is, 
who  had  opportunities  of  conversing  with  him. 

WILLIAM  G.  FITZ-GERALD. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   I 


PAGE 


Early  life — Leaving  home — I  meet  Jensen — I  go  pearling — 
Daily  routine — Submarine  beauties — A  fortune  in  pearls — 
Seized  by  an  octopus — Shark-killing  extraordinary — Trading 
with  the  natives — Impending  trouble — Preparing  for  the 
attack — Baffling  the  savages I 

CHAPTER   II 

The  three  black  pearls — The  fatal  morning — Jensen  and  his 
flotilla  drift  away — Alone  on  the  ship — "  Oil  on  the  troubled 
waters" — A  substitute  for  a  rudder— Smoke  signals — The 
whirlpool — The  savages  attack — I  escape  from  the  blacks — 
A  strange  monster — The  Veielland  strikes  a  reef — Stone- 
deaf  through  the  big  wave — I  leap  into  the  sea — How  Bruno 
helped  me  ashore — The  dreary  island — My  raft — A  horrible 
discovery ...       27 

CHAPTER   III 

On  the  wreck — Efforts  to  kindle  a  fire — My  flagstaff — Clothing 
injpossible — Growing  corn  in  turtles'  blood — My  house  of 
pearl  shells — How  the  pelicans  fished  for  me — Stung  by  a 
"sting-rae" — My  amusements — A  peculiar  clock — Threat- 
ened madness — I  begin  to  build  a  boat — An  appalling  blunder 
— Riding  on  turtles — Preaching  to  Bruno — Canine  sympathy 
— A  sail — How  I  got  fresh  water — Sending  messages  by  the 
pelicans — A  wonderful  almanac — A  mysterious  voice  of  hope 
— Human  beings  at  last 48 


xiv  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   IV 

PAGE 

try  to  revive  my  visitors — Demonstrations  of  amazement — A 
variety  entertainment — Evil  spirits  in  the  mirror — "  The  star 
above  my  home  " — "  Preliminary  canter"  with  the  boat — A 
joyful  procession — "  Good-bye  to  my  island  home  " — Nearing 
the  main — Among  the  cannibals — Smoke  telegraphy — A 
weird  audience — A  nation  meets  me — My  first  palace  .         .       71 


CHAPTER   V 

Some  queer  dishes — Water  wizards — A  mysterious  deputation — 
I  protest  against  cannibalism — My  marriage  ceremony- — A 
startling  proposition — Daily  routine — A  diet  of  worms — I 
proceed  cautiously — The  cannibal  poet  sells  his  wares — 
Fishing  extraordinary — How  emus  were  caught — Eternal 
fires — A  coming  horror — The  first  cannibal  feast  ...       92 


CHAPTER   VI 

A  weird  duel — The  tragedy  of  the  baby  whale — My  boat  is 
destroyed — A  ten  miles'  swim — Gigantic  prizes — Swimming 
in  the  whale's  head — I  make  use  of  the  visitors — A  fight 
with  an  alligator — The  old  craving — Bitter  disappointment — 
My  mysterious  "  flying  spears "' — Dog-like  fidelity — I  present 
my  "card" — The  desert  of  red  sand 1 14 


CHAPTER   VII 

The  agonies  of  thirst — A  ghastly  drink — I  ask  Yamba  to  kill  me 
— My  ministering  angel— How  Yamba  caught  opossum — 
The  water  witch — A  barometer  of  snakes — The  coming 
deluge — The  plunge  into  the  Rapids — A  waste  of  waters — 
A  fearful  situation — Barking  alligators — English-speaking 
natives — A  ship  at  last — I  abandon  hope — The  deserted 
settlement 134 


CONTENTS  XV 


CHAPTER  VIII 


PAGE 


In  the  throes  of  fever — A  ghastly  discovery — Pitiful  relics — A 
critical  moment — Yamba  in  danger — A  blood  bath — A 
luxury  indeed — Signs  of  civilisation — The  great  storm — 
Drifting,  drifting — Yamba's  mysterious  glee — A  dreadful 
shock — "  Welcome  home  !  " — My  official  protectors — Myself 
as  a  cannibal  war  chief — Preparations  for  battle — A  weird 
apparition — Generosity  to  the  vanquished — The  old  desire   .     155 


CHAPTER    IX 

The  children's  sports — A  terrible  ordeal — Queer  notions  of 
beauty — How  little  girls  are  taught — Domestic  quarrels — 
Telltale  footprints — I  grow  weary — Off  on  a  long  cruise — 
Astounding  news — A  foreign  tongue — Yamba  has  seen  the 
girls — A  remarkable  "  letter  " — A  queer  notion  of  decoration 
— Yamba  as  "advance  agent" — I  meet  the  girls — A  dis- 
tressing interview — ^Jealousy  of  the  native  women  .         '175 


CHAPTER   X 

Miss  Rogers  begins  her  story — An  interview  on  the  high  seas — 
Drifting  to  destruction — The  ship  disappears— Tortured  by 
thirst— A  fearful  sight — Cannibals  on  the  watch — The  blacks 
quarrel  over  the  girls — Courting  starvation — Yamba  goes 
for  help — A  startling  announcement — Preparations  for  the 
fight — Anxious  moments — A  weird  situation — "  Victory,  vic- 
tory"— A  melodramatic  attitude — The  girls  get  sore  feet       .     199 


CHAPTER   XI 

Easier  travel — The  girls  improve — How  the  blacks  received  them 
— A  large  hut — A  dainty  dish — What  might  have  been — 
The  girls  decorate  their  home  —  Bruno  as  a  performer 
— "  A  teacher  of  swimming" — How  we  fought  depression — 
Castles  in  the  air — A  strange  concert — Trapping  wild-cats 
— The  girls'  terror  of  solitude — Fervent  prayer — A  goose- 
skin  football — Plow  I  made  drums 222 


xvi  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER   XII 

PAGE 

The  girls  in  sun-bonnets — I  advise  the  blacks — Fatal  excitement 
— Last  moments — The  catastrophe — I  cannot  realise  it — A 
fearful  contrast  — "  Only  a  withered  flower" — Bruno's  grief 
— Steering  by  the  ant-hills — Avoiding  the  forests — Myriads  of 
rats— The  flowing  of  the  tide — Rats  and  the  native  children 
— Clouds  of  locusts — Fish  from  the  clouds    ....     244 


CHAPTER    XIII 

My  usual  introduction — A  serious  entertainment — The  power  of 
the  bow — Repulsive  blacks- -Mysterious  spears — Waterless 
wastes — A  battle  with  snakes  —  More  prestige — Rubies 
thrown  away — Quarrying  extraordinary  ....     264 


CHAPTER   XIV 

An  eventful  meeting — Civilisation  at  last — Rage  and  despair — 
A  white  man's  tracks — Yamba's  find — Good  Samaritans — 
Bitter  disappointment — Bruno  as  guardian — A  heavy  burden 
— A  strange  invitation — The  mysterious  monster — "Come, 
and  be  our  chief" — I  discover  a  half-caste  girl — The  fate  of 
Leichhardt — "  In  the  valley  of  the  shadow" — A  sane  white 
man — Gibson  is  dying — Vain  efforts — Unearthly  voices         .     284 


CHAPTER   XV 

Lost  in  the  desert — Gibson's  dying  advice — Giles  meets  Gibson 
— A  fountain  in  the  desert — A  terrible  fix — Giles  regains 
his  camp — Gibson's  effects — Mysterious  tracks — A  treasured 
possession — A  perfect  paradise — Grape  vines  a  failure — A 
trained  cockatoo — An  extraordinary  festival — My  theory  of 
the  "ghosts" 308 


CONTENTS  xvii 


CHAPTER   XVI 

PAGE 

A  teacher  of  English — Myself  as  a  black-fellow — I  rest  content 
— An  unknown  terror — Manufacture  of  gunpowder — A 
curious  find — The  fiery  raft — In  the  lair  of  snakes — A  dan- 
gerous enemy — An  exciting  scene — A  queer  sport — Respect 
for  the  victor — A  vain  hope — Sore  disappointment — Yamba 
in  danger — A  strange  duel — My  opponent  greets  me     .         .     329 


CHAPTER   XVn 

Mosquitoes  and  leeches — I  explain  pictures — An  awkward  ad- 
mission— My  great  portrait — The  stomach  as  a  deity — The 
portrait  a  success — A  colossal  statue  of  "H.R.H." — Fish 
without  eyes — A  sad  reflection — A  strange  illusion — A  grave 
danger — I  sink  a  well — "Universal  provider" — A  significant 
phenomena — Bruno  as  accomplice — I  find  Bruno  dead .         .     349 


CHAPTER   XVni 

I  make  a  perambulator — Meeting  with  whites — A  dreadful  habit 
— The  miracle  of  Moses — Preparing  a  demonstration — 
An  expectant  audience — Yamba  growing  feeble — One  tie 
snapped — Yamba's  pathetic  efi"orts— Vain  hopes — Yamba 
dying — Nearing  the  end — My  sole  desire — A  mass  of  gold 
—I  seek  trousers  and  shirt — An  interesting  greeting — A 
startling  question — Towards  Mount  Margaret — The  French 
Consul — I  reach  London       .......     372 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Louis  de  Rougemont Frontispiece 

PAGE 

I  arranged  to  go  pearl-fishing 4 

The  octopus  and  the  boat 16 

Jensen's  charge  of  grape-shot 23 

Attacked  by  savages 39 

How  Bruno  helped  me 44 

Building  my  house 54 

Wild  delight 61 

Riding  on  a  turtle 63 

My  secondary  skin         ........  75 

Great  excitement 82 

Approaching  the  new  country qo 

The  feast 102 

The  engagement  became  general 109 

Settling  a  quarrel 1 15 

Burning  thirst 128 

Alligators  peering  at  us 145 

Catching  water-fowl 153 

The  enemy  turned  and  fled 171 

Abusing  the  husband 181 

Paintings  on  the  rocks 187 

An  original  letter 193 

Intercepted  by  the  blacks 206 

A  deadly  combat 2VJ 

xix 


XX  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


Disposing  of  the  chief 219 

Making  the  chairs 228 

Dressing  my  hair 237 

Fashionable  costumes             245 

I  haunted  the  sea-shore  for  hours 252 

A  living  bridge 260 

One  after  another  they  came 275 

Civilisation  at  last .  286 

An  accidental  discovery 300 

Mr.  Ernest  Giles 310 

Mr.  W.  H.  Tietkins 311 

An  extraordinary  festival 325 

A  strange  performance 339 

Camels  in  the  desert 343 

An  extraordinary  portrait       .         ,                   ....  353 

A  water  famine 363 

Death  of  Bruno 370 

The  perambulator ...,,,,,.  374 

Setting  fire  to  rocks  and  stones 379 

As  young  as  ever 385 

"Good-bye,  my  husband,  I  am  going"          ....  387 

*  Halloa,  boys  !  have  you  room  for  me  ? "     ,        ,        .        .  393 


THE   ADVENTURES    OF 
LOUIS    DE     ROUGEMONT 

CHAPTER    I 

Early  life — Leaving  home — I  meet  Jensen — I  go  pearling — Daily 
routine — Submarine  beauties — A  fortune  in  pearls — Seized  by  an 
octopus — Shark-killing  extraordinary — Trading  with  the  natives 
—Impending  trouble — Preparing  for  the  attack — Baffling  the 
savages. 

1WAS  born  in  or  near  Paris,  in  the  year  1844.  My 
father  was  a  fairly  prosperous  man  of  business — 
a  general  merchant,  to  be  precise,  who  dealt  largely  in 
shoes  ;  but  when  I  was  about  ten  years  old,  my  mother, 
in  consequence  of  certain  domestic  differences,  took 
me  to  live  with  her  at  Montreux,  and  other  places  in 
Switzerland,  where  I  was  educated.  I  visited  many  of 
che  towns  near  Montreux,  including  Lausanne,  Geneva, 
Neufchatel,  &c.  The  whole  of  the  time  I  was  at 
school  I  mixed  extensively  with  English  boys  on 
account  of  their  language  and  sports,  both  of  which 
attracted  me. 

Boys  soon  begin  to  display  their  bent,  and  mine, 
curiously  enough,  was  in  the  direction  of  geology.  I 
was  constantly  bringing   home  pieces   of  stone   and 


2    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

minerals  picked  up  in  the  streets  and  on  the  moun- 
tains, and  asking  questions  about  their  origin  and 
history.  My  dear  mother  encouraged  me  in  this,  and 
later  on  I  frequently  went  to  Freiburg,  in  the  Black 
Forest,  to  get  a  practical  insight  into  smelting.  .  When 
I  was  about  nineteen,  however,  a  message  arrived 
from  my  father,  directing  me  to  return  to  France  and 
report  myself  as  a  conscript ;  but  against  this  my 
mother  resolutely  set  her  face.  I  fancy  my  father 
wanted  me  to  take  up  the  army  as  a  career,  but  in 
deference  to  my  mother's  wishes  I  remained  with  her  in 
Switzerland  for  some  time  longer.  She  and  I  had  many 
talks  about  my  future,  and  she  at  length  advised  me 
to  take  a  trip  to  the  East,  and  see  what  the  experience 
of  travel  would  do  for  me.  Neither  of  us  had  any 
definite  project  in  view,  but  at  length  my  mother  gave 
me  about  7000  francs  and  I  set  out  for  Cairo,  intend- 
ing eventually  to  visit  and  make  myself  acquainted 
with  the  French  possessions  in  the  Far  East.  My 
idea  was  to  visit  such  places  as  Tonkin,  Cochin-China, 
Madagascar,  Mauritius,  Seychelles,  &c.  My  mother  was 
of  the  opinion  that  if  I  saw  a  bit  of  the  world  in  this 
way  I  would  be  more  inclined  to  settle  down  at  home 
with  her  at  the  end  of  my  wanderings.  The  primary 
cause  of  my  going  away  was  a  little  love  episode. 
Whilst  at  Montreux  I  fell  in  love  with  a  charming 
young  lady  at  a  boarding-school  near  my  home.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  some  high  personage  in  the  court  of 
Russia — but  exactly  what  position  he  held  I  cannot  say. 
My  mother  was  quite  charmed  with  the  young  lady  and 
viewed  our  attachment  with  delight.  But  when  my 
father  heard  of  the  matter  he  raised  a  decided  objec- 
tion to  it,  and  ordered  me  to  return  to  France  and  join 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  3 

the  army.  He  had,  as  I  have  previously  intimated, 
made  his  own  plans  for  my  future,  even  to  the 
point  of  deciding  upon  a  future  wife  for  me,  as  is 
customary  in  France ;  but  I  resolutely  declined  to  con- 
form to  his  wishes  in  this  respect,  and  my  mother 
quite  sided  with  me.  I  never  quite  knew  how  he  got 
to  hear  of  my  love  affair,  but  I  conclude  that  my 
mother  must  have  mentioned  it  to  him.  I  only  stayed 
a  few  days  in  the  wonderful  metropolis  of  Egypt ;  its 
noises,  its  cosmopolitanism,  its  crowds — these,  and 
many  other  considerations,  drove  me  from  the  city,  and 
I  set  out  for  Singapore. 

I  had  not  been  many  days  in  that  place  when, 
chancing  to  make  inquiries  at  a  store  kept  by  a  Mr. 
Shakespeare,  I  was  casually  introduced  to  a  Dutch 
pearl-fisher  named  Peter  Jensen.  Although  I  describe 
him  as  a  Dutch  pearler  I  am  somewhat  uncertain  as 
to  his  exact  nationality.  I  am  under  the  impression 
that  he  told  me  he  came  from  Copenhagen,  but  in 
those  days  the  phrase  '^  Dutchman  "  had  a  very  wide 
application.  If  a  man  hailed  from  Holland,  Sweden, 
Norway,  or  any  neighbouring  country,  he  was  always 
referred  to  as  a  Dutchman.  This  was  in  1863.  We 
grew  quite  friendly,  Jensen  and  I,  and  he  told  me  he  had 
a  small  forty-ton  schooner  at  Batavia,  in  which  sturdy 
little  craft  he  used  to  go  on  his  pearling  expeditions. 

**  I  am  now,"  he  said,  "about  to  organise  a  trip  to 
some  untouched  pearling  grounds  off  the  south  of  New 
Guinea,  but  have  not  sufficient  capital  to  defray  the 
preliminary  expenses." 

This  hint  I  took,  and  I  offered  to  join  him.  He 
at  once  agreed,  and  we  commenced  our  preparations 
without  delay — in  Batavia.     Now  when  a  pearler  en- 


4    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

gaged  a  crew  of  native  divers  there  in  those  days,  he  had 
to  deposit  beforehand  with  the  Dutch  Government  a 
certain  sum  for  each   man  entering  his   service,  this 


I    ARRANGED   TO   GO    PEARL-FISHING 

money  being  a  guarantee  that  the  man  would  get  his 
wages.  Well,  I  placed  all  the  money  that  I  had  with 
me  at  Captain  Jensen's  disposal,  provided  he  gave  me 
a  share  in  the  venture  we  were  about  to  undertake. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  5 

"  We  will  not,"  he  said  to  me  in  Singapore,  "  draw  up 
an  agreement  here,  but  will  do  so  at  Batavia,"  and 
forthwith  we  set  sail  for  that  place.  Before  leaving 
Singapore,  however,  Jensen  bought  some  nautical  in- 
struments he  could  not  get  at  Batavia  —  including 
compasses,  quadrant,  chronometer,  &c.  Strange  to 
say,  he  did  not  tell  me  that  his  ship  was  named  the 
Veielland  until  we  had  arrived  at  Batavia.  Here  the 
contract  was  duly  drawn  up,  and  the  vessel  fitted  out 
for  the  voyage.  I  fancy  this  was  the  first  time 
Jensen  had  embarked  on  a  pearling  expedition  on  a 
craft  of  the  size  of  the  Veielland,  his  previous  trips 
having  been  undertaken  on  much  smaller  vessels, 
say  of  about  ten  tons.  Although  the  fitting  out  of 
the  ship  was  left  entirely  in  his  hands,  I  insisted  upon 
having  a  supply  of  certain  stores  for  myself  put  aboard 
— things  he  would  never  have  thought  about.  These 
included  such  luxuries  as  tinned  and  compressed 
vegetables,  condensed  milk,  &c.  Jensen  did  not  even 
think  of  ship's  biscuits  until  I  called  his  attention  to 
the  oversight.  He  demurred  at  first  about  buying 
them,  hut  I  told  him  I  would  not  go  until  we  had 
the  biscuits  aboard.  Jensen  was  a  very  bluff,  enig- 
matic sort  of  fellow,  as  I  afterwards  found  out.  He 
was  of  a  sullen,  morose  nature,  and  I  could  never  get 
much  out  of  him  about  his  past.  He  would  not  speak 
about  himself  under  any  circumstances,  and  at  no 
time  of  our  acquaintance  was  he  any  sort  of  a  sociable 
companion.  He  was  very  hard  upon  the  sailors 
under  him,  and  was  much  addicted  to  the  use  of 
strong  language.  I  admit  that  I  was  an  absolute 
''muff"  in  those  days,  and  Jensen  was  quick  to  grasp 
the  fact.      He  was  very  fond   of  schnapps,  whilst  I 


6    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

hated  the  smell  of  the  stuff.  Moreover,  he  was  a 
great  smoker,  and  here  again  our  tastes  differed. 

Our  preparations  in  Batavia  complete,  we  next 
went  over  to  the  islands  of  the  Dutch  Archipelago, 
and  engaged  forty  experienced  Malay  divers  to  accom- 
pany us.  Jensen  was  very  particular  in  selecting  the 
men,  each  being  required  to  demonstrate  his  capabili- 
ties before  us.  The  way  he  tested  them  prior  to 
actually  engaging  them  was  to  make  each  dive 
after  a  bright  tin  object  thrown  into  so  many  fathoms 
of  water.  Altogether  he  spent  several  weeks  choosing 
his  crew.  He  had  engaged  a  couple  of  Malays  at 
Batavia  to  help  in  the  work  of  navigating  the  ship, 
but  besides  being  sailors  these  men  were  also  good 
divers.  The  majority  of  the  other  Malays  were  only 
useful  as  divers,  and  took  no  part  in  the  working  of 
the  ship.  A  native  serang,  or  "  boss,"  was  appointed 
as  chief,  or  foreman,  over  the  Malays,  and  he  was 
permitted  to  take  with  him  his  wife  and  her  maid. 
This  ^'serang"  had  to  be  a  first-class  diver  himself, 
and  had  also  to  be  acquainted  with  the  manoeuvring 
of  a  small  boat.  He  was  also  required  to  have  a 
smattering  of  navigation  generally.  Above  all,  he  had 
to  be  able  to  assert  authority  over  the  other  divers ; 
and  in  all  these  respects  our  serang  was  thoroughly 
proficient. 

I  may  here  explain  that  shortly  after  leaving  Batavia 
the  captain  had  the  ship  repainted  a  greyish-white 
colour  all  over.  I  never  troubled  to  look  for  her 
name,  but  one  day  I  saw  Jensen  painting  the  word 
Veielland  on  her.  There  was  a  totally  different  name 
on  the  lifeboat,  but  I  cannot  remember  it.  What 
Jensen's  motive  was  in  sailing  the  ship  under  another 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  7 

name  1  never  understood ;  certainly  it  was  a  very 
suspicious  circumstance.  Perhaps  the  ship  as  origi- 
nally named  had  a  bad  name,  and  if  such  were  the 
case — mind  you,  I  don't  say  that  it  had — the  Malays 
could  never  have  been  induced  to  go  aboard.  Once 
out  at  sea,  however,  they  would  be  absolutely  at  the 
mercy  of  the  captain,  and  he  could  treat  them  just  as 
he  pleased.  The  first  thing  they  did  before  coming 
aboard  was  to  look  at  the  name  for  themselves.  No 
doubt  they  knew  the  reputation  of  every  pearler. 
Jensen  did  on  one  occasion  exercise  his  authority  to 
the  extent  of  transferring  some  of  his  own  Malay 
divers  to  another  ship  when  we  were  out  at  sea. 

At  last  everything  was  ready,  and  when  we  sailed 
for  the  pearling  grounds,  our  crew  numbered  forty- 
four  all  told,  not  including  a  fine  dog  that  belonged  to 
the  captain.  This  dog,  which  played  so  important — - 
nay,  so  vitally  important — a  part  in  my  strange  after- 
life, was  given  to  Jensen  at  Batavia  by  a  Captain 
Cadell,  a  well-known  Australian  seaman,  who  had 
gained  some  notoriety  by  navigating  the  Murray  River 
for  the  first  time.  Cadell,  who  was  a  great  friend  of 
Jensen,  was  himself  a  pearler.  But  he  met  with  a  sad 
end.  He  was  in  a  pearling  expedition  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Thursday  Island,  and  among  his  crew 
were  some  of  the  very  Australian  Blacks  who  in  after 
years  proved  so  friendly  to  me.  Cadell  treated  these 
men  very  badly,  keeping  them  at  work  long  after  the 
time  for  their  return  home  had  expired,  and  one  day 
they  mutinied  and  murdered  him  whilst  he  was  asleep. 
The  blackfellow  who  called  himself  "  Captain  Jack 
Davies,"  of  whom  I  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter, 
was  amongst  the  crew  at  the  time.     I  obtained  this 


8     DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

information  in  Sydney  from  Captain  Tucker,  a  well- 
known  Torres  Straits  pearler.  Bruno,  Jensen's  dog, 
was  something  of  a  greyhound  in  build,  only  that 
his  hind-quarters  were  heavier. 

As  you  may  suppose,  my  knowledge  of  seamanship 
was  very  limited  indeed,  but  Jensen  interested  himself 
in  me,  so  that  I  soon  began  to  pick  up  a  good  deal  of 
useful  knowledge.  He  taught  me  how  to  take  the 
sun,  I  using  his  old  instruments ;  but  I  could  never 
grasp  the  taking  of  the  lunars.  On  our  voyage  out 
I  had  no  duties  to  perform  on  board,  but  I  found  much 
to  interest  myself  in  the  beautiful  tropical  islands 
among  which  we  threaded  our  wa}^ ;  and  I  took  quite 
a  childish  delight  in  everything  I  saw.  It  was  really 
a  grand  time  for  me.  I  constantly  wrote  home  to  my 
mother,  the  last  letter  I  forwarded  to  her  being  from 
Koopang.  Occasionally  we  landed  on  one  of  the 
islands  to  buy  fresh  provisions,  in  the  shape  of  fowls, 
pigs,  fruit,  <&:c.  We  then  set  sail  for  the  coast  of  New 
Guinea.  The  voyage  thence  was  accomplished  without 
the  slightest  hitch,  the  divers  spending  most  of  their 
time  in  singing  and  playing  like  little  children, — all  in 
the  best  of  good  spirits.  Their  favourite  form  of 
amusement  was  to  sit  round  a  large  fire,  either  telling 
stories  of  the  girls  they  had  left  behind,  or  singing  love 
melodies.  When  the  weather  was  at  all  cold,  they 
would  make  a  fire  in  a  rather  shallow  tub,  the  sides  of 
which  were  lined  with  a  layer  of  sand.  They  were  a 
wonderfully  light-hearted  lot  of  fellows,  and  I  greatly 
enjoyed  listening  to  their  chants  and  yarns.  I  was 
more  often  with  them  than  in  Jensen's  company,  and 
it  did  not  take  me  long  to  pick  up  bits  of  their  language. 

The  Veielland  only  drew  between   seven   feet,  and 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  9 

eight  feet  of  water,  so  that  we  were  able  to  venture  very 
close  in-shore  whenever  it  was  necessary.  At  length, 
about  a  month  after  starting,  we  reached  a  likely  spot 
where  the  captain  thought  that  the  precious  shells  might 
be  found ;  here  we  anchored,  and  the  divers  quickly 
got  to  work.  I  ought  to  have  mentioned  that  we 
carried  a  large  whale-boat,  and  about  half-a-dozen  frail 
little  *'  shell "  boats  for  the  use  of  the  divers. 

The  comings  and  goings  of  the  various  pearling  ex- 
peditions were  of  course  regulated  by  the  weather  and 
the  state  of  the  tide.  The  captain  himself  went  out 
first  of  all  in  the  whale-boat,  and  from  it  prospected 
for  shells  at  the  bottom  of  the  crystal  sea.  The  water 
was  marvellously  transparent,  and  leaning  over  the 
side  of  the  boat,  Jensen  peered  eagerly  into  his  sea- 
telescope,  which  is  simply  a  metal  cylinder  with  a  lens 
of  ordinary  glass  at  the  bottom.  Some  of  the  sea- 
telescopes  would  even  be  without  this  lens,  being 
simply  a  metal  cylinder  open  at  both  ends.  Although 
they  did  not  bring  the  objects  looked  at  nearer  the 
vision,  yet  they  enabled  the  prospector  to  see  below 
the  ruffled  surface  of  the  water. 

The  big  whale-boat  was  followed  at  a  respectful 
distance  by  the  flotilla  of  smaller  boats,  each  contain- 
ing from  four  to  six  Mala3's.  When  Jensen  discerned 
a  Hkely  spot  through  his  peculiar  telescope,  he  gave 
the  signal  for  a  halt,  and  before  you  could  reahse 
what  was  going  to  happen,  the  native  divers  had 
tumbled  out  of  their  boats,  and  were  swimming  in  a 
weird  way  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  translucent  sea. 
As  a  rule,  one  man  was  left  in  each  little  boat  to 
follow  the  movements  of  the  divers  as  they  returned 
to    the    surface.      Not    only   did    these    divers    wear 


lo   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

no  mechanical  "dress/'  but  they  used  no  stimulants 
or  palliatives  of  any  kind  to  aid  them  in  their  work. 
All  they  carried  was  a  small  sheath-knife  hung  from 
the  waist  by  a  piece  of  string.  The  water  for  the 
most  part  was  only  two  or  three  fathoms  deep,  but 
sometimes  it  would  be  as  much  as  eight  fathoms, — 
which  was  the  greatest  depth  to  which  the  men  cared 
to  go.  When  he  reached  the  bottom,  the  diver  would 
grope  about  for  shells,  and  generally  return  to  the 
surface  with  a  couple,  held  in  his  left  hand  and  hugged 
against  his  breast;  the  right  hand  was  kept  free  and 
directed  his  movements  in  swimming.  Each  diver 
seldom  remained  under  water  more  than  one  minute, 
and  on  coming  to  the  surface  he  would  take  a  "  spell " 
of  perhaps  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  going  down 
again. 

As  fast  as  each  man  brought  his  shells  into  the  boat, 
they  were  put  into  a  separate  little  pile,  which  was  re- 
spected absolutely,  and  always  recognised  as  belonging 
to  its  owner.  The  bed  of  the  sea  at  these  pearling 
grounds  >  is  usually  coral,  with  innumerable  holes  of 
different  depths  and  sizes  dotted  all  over  it.  It  was  in 
these  recesses  that  the  best  shells  were  mostly  found. 

The  marine  vegetation  down  in  these  seas  was 
always  of  extreme  beauty;  there  were  stately  "trees" 
that  waved  backwards  and  forwards,  as  though  under 
the  influence  of  a  gentle  breeze;  there  were  high, 
luxuriant  grasses,  and  innumerable  plants  of  endless 
variety  and  colour.  The  coral  rocks,  too,  were  of 
gorgeous  hues — ^yellow,  blue,  red,  and  white;  but  a 
peculiar  thing  was  that  the  moment  you  brought  a 
piece  of  this  rock  up  to  the  surface,  the  lovely  colour 
it  possessed  whilst  in  the  water  gradually  faded  away. 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  ii 

Some  of  the  coral  I  saw  had  curious  Httle  shoots  hang- 
ing from  its  numerous  projections  bearing  a  striking 
resemblance  to  bluebells. 

The  illusion  of  a  submarine  forest  was  further 
heightened  by  the  droves  of  gaily-coloured  fish  that 
flitted  in  and  out  among  the  branches.  Perhaps  the 
most  beautiful  of  all  were  the  little  dolphins.  The 
diving  expeditions  went  away  from  the  ship  with  the 
ebb  tide,  and  returned  with  the  flow.  Sometimes  their 
search  would  take  them  long  distances  away,  and  on 
one  occasion  they  were  working  fully  ten  miles  from 
the  Veielland.  When  the  water  suddenly  became 
rough,  rendering  the  divers  unable  to  paddle  their 
own  little  skiffs  back  to  the  ship,  they  made  their  way 
to  the  whale-boat,  clambered  aboard,  and  returned  in 
her,  trailing  their  own  craft  at  the  stern.  The  boats, 
however,  were  not  always  brought  back  to  the  ship  at 
night;  as  a  rule  they  were  buoyed  near  the  pearling 
beds,  whilst  the  divers  returned  to  their  quarters 
aboard.  I  might  here  explain  that  the  sleeping 
accommodation  for  the  Malays  was  both  ample  and 
comfortable.  A  large  room  in  which  the  casks  of 
fresh  water  were  stored  was  set  apart  for  their 
use.  These  casks  were  turned  on  end  and  a  deck  of 
planks  placed  over  them,  on  which  the  Malays  laid 
their  sleeping  mats  and  little  wooden  pillows.  They 
ranged  themselves  twenty  a  side.  But  you  may  be 
asking,  what  was  /  doing  during  these  pearling  expedi- 
tions ?  Well,  I  was  intrusted  with  the  important  duty 
of  receiving  the  shells  from  the  men,  and  crediting 
each  with  the  number  he  deliveredo  Thus  I  was 
nearly  always  left  alone  on  the  ship — save  for  the 
dog;  because  even  the  two  Malay  women  frequently 


12   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

went  out  diving,  and  they  were  credited  for  work  done 
precisely  as  the  men  were. 

If  I  had  no  shells  to  open  whilst  the  divers  were 
absent,  I  filled  in  my  time  by  sewing  sails,  which 
Jensen  himself  would  cut  to  the  required  shape — and 
reading,  &c.  My  library  consisted  of  only  five  books 
— a  copy  of  the  Bible,  and  a  four -volume  medical 
work  in  English  by  Bell,  which  I  had  purchased  at 
Singapore.  I  made  quite  a  study  of  the  contents  of 
this  work,  and  acquired  much  valuable  information, 
which  I  was  able  to  put  to  good  use  in  after  years, 
more  particularly  during  my  sojourn  amongst  the 
Blacks.  Bruno  generally  sat  by  my  side  on  deck 
when  I  was  alone, — in  fact  he  was  nearly  always 
with  me.  He  took  to  me  more  than  to  Jensen  from 
the  first.  Jensen  rarely  tried  to  bully  me,  though  of 
course  I  was  now  very  much  in  his  power,  as  he  em- 
phatically illustrated  one  day.  A  Malay  diver  had 
very  much  annoyed  him,  and  in  his  fury  he  picked  up 
a  heavy  broom  with  a  stick  fully  four  feet  long,  and 
felled  the  poor  fellow  senseless  to  the  deck  with  it.  I 
was  shocked  at  such  awful  brutaHty,  and  ventured  to 
protest  against  it.  "Captain,"  I  said,  "don't  do  any- 
thing like  that  again  whilst  I  am  aboard,"  Turning 
round  in  a  great  passion  he  ordered  me  to  keep  my 
own  counsel,  otherwise  he  would  have  me  put  in  irons. 
But  for  all  that  Jensen  never  again  let  his  temper 
get  the  better  of  him  to  such  an  extent  in  my  presence. 
He  was  always  very  gruff  in  his  manner,  and  looked 
upon  me  as  the  "  darndest  fool  he  had  ever  met." 

These  divers,  by  the  way,  never  seemed  to  trouble 
about  the  value  of  the  treasure  they  were  constantly 
bringing   to    the    surface.     They   thought   themselves 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  13 

well  paid  if  they  were  given  plenty  of  rice  and  fish, 
turtles'  eggs  and  fowls,  in  addition  to  such  luxuries 
as  spices,  coffee,  and  ''  Brummagem  "  jewellery,  of  a 
kind  which  is  too  well  known  to  need  description.  At 
the  same  time  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  addition  to 
their  wages,  which  were  paid  them  when  they  were 
discharged  from  the  ship,  the  Malays  had  practically 
no  opportunity  of  being  dishonest,  even  though  they 
might  have  been  inclined  that  way.  They  never  came 
into  actual  contact  with  the  pearls;  they  were  re- 
warded according  to  the  number  of  shells  brought  to 
the  surface,  and  not  the  value  of  the  pearls  they 
might  contain.  All  the  shells  were  opened  by  me.  A 
healthy  spirit  of  rivalry  was  maintained  among  the 
divers,  and  the  man  who  had  the  best  record  of  shells 
each  week  was  rewarded  with  an  extra  allowance  of 
rum  or  tobacco ;  a  choice  of  some  article  of  jewellery, 
or  anything  else  he  fancied  from  among  the  stock  we 
had  on  board.  A  bottle  of  chutney  or  pickles  was 
considered  a  specially  valuable  delicacy.  No  money 
was  ever  given  to  the  divers  as  wages  whilst  at  sea,  re- 
muneration in  kind  being  always  given  instead.  Each 
expedition  would  be  absent  perhaps  six  hours,  and  on 
its  return  each  diver  generally  had  between  twenty 
and  forty  shells  to  hand  over  to  me.  These  I  arranged 
in  long  rows  on  the  deck,  and  allowed  them  to  remain 
there  all  night.  Next  day  I  cleaned  them  by  scraping 
off  the  coral  from  the  shells,  and  then  opened  them  with 
an  ordinary  dinner-knife.  Of  course,  every  oyster  did 
not  produce  a  pearl;  in  fact,  I  have  opened  as  many 
as  a  hundred  consecutive  shells  without  finding  a 
single  pearl.  The  gems  are  hidden  away  in  the  fleshy 
part  of  the  oyster,  and  have  to  be  removed  by  pressure 


14   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

of  the  thumb.  The  empty  shells  are  then  thrown  in  a 
heap  on  one  side,  and  afterwards  carefully  stowed  away 
in  the  hold,  as  they  constitute  a  valuable  cargo  in 
themselves,  being  worth — at  that  time,  at  any  rate 
(1864) — from  ;^200  to  ;^2  50,  and  even  ;^350  a  ton. 
All  the  pearls  I  found  I  placed  in  a  walnut  jewel-case, 
measuring  about  fourteen  inches  by  eight  inches  by 
six  inches.  The  value  of  the  treasure  increased  day 
by  day,  until  it  amounted  to  many  thousands  of  pounds; 
but  of  this  more  hereafter.  I  did  not  know  much  of 
the  value  of  pearls  then — how  could  I,  having  had  no 
previous  experience  ? 

Captain  Jensen,  however,  assured  me  at  the  end  of 
the  season  that  we  had  something  like  ;^50,000  worth 
of  pearls  aboard,  to  say  nothing  about  the  value  of  the 
shells,  of  which  we  had  about  thirty  tons.  It  must 
be  clearly  understood  that  this  is  Captain  Jensen's 
estimate  —  I  am  utterly  unable  to  give  one.  The 
oysters  themselves  we  found  very  poor  eating,  and  no 
one  on  board  cared  about  them.  Some  of  the  shells 
contained  one  pearl,  others  two,  three,  and  even  four. 
One  magnificent  specimen  I  came  across  produced  no 
fewer  than  a  dozen  fine  pearls,  but  that  of  course  was 
very  exceptional.  The  largest  gem  I  ever  found  was 
shaped  just  like  a  big  cube,  more  than  an  inch  square. 
It  was,  however,  comparatively  worthless.  Actually 
the  finest  specimen  that  passed  through  my  hands  was 
about  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  and  of  exquisite 
colour  and  shape.  Some  of  the  pearls  were  of  a 
beautiful  rose  colour,  others  yellow;  but  most  were 
pure  white. 

The  greatest  enemy  the  divers  had  to  fear  in  those 
waters  was  the  dreaded  octopus,  whose  presence  occa- 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  15 

sioned  far  greater  panic  than  the  appearance  of  a  mere 
shark. 

These  loathsome  monsters — call  them  squids,  or 
devil-fish,  or  what  you  will — would  sometimes  come 
and  throw  their  horrible  tentacles  over  the  side  of  the 
frail  craft  from  which  the  divers  were  working,  and 
actually  fasten  on  to  the  men  themselves,  dragging 
them  out  into  the  water.  At  other  times  octopuses 
have  been  known  to  attack  the  divers  down  below, 
and  hold  them  relentlessly  under  water  until  life  was 
extinct.  One  of  our  own  men  had  a  terribly  narrow 
escape  from  one  of  these  fearful  creatures.  I  must 
explain,  however,  that  occasionally  when  the  divers  re- 
turned from  pearl-fishing,  they  used  to  rope  all  their  little 
skiffs  together  and  let  them  lie  astern  of  the  schooner. 
Well,  one  night  the  wind  rose  and  rain  fell  heavily, 
with  the  result  that  next  morning  all  the  little  boats 
were  found  more  or  less  water-logged.  Some  of  the 
Malays  were  told  off  to  go  and  bale  them  out.  Whilst 
they  were  at  work  one  of  the  men  saw  a  mysterious- 
looking  black  object  in  the  sea,  which  so  attracted  his 
curiosity  that  he  dived  overboard  to  find  out  what  it 
was.  He  had  barely  reached  the  water,  however,  when 
an  immense  octopus  rose  into  view,  and  at  once  made 
for  the  terrified  man,  who  instantly  saw  his  danger, 
and  with  great  presence  of  mind  promptly  turned  and 
scrambled  back  into  the  boat. 

The  terrible  creature  was  after  him,  however,  and  to 
the  horror  of  the  onlookers  it  extended  its  great  flexible 
tentacles,  enveloped  the  entire  boat,  man  and  all,  and 
then  dragged  the  whole  down  into  the  clear  depths. 
The  diver's  horrified  comrades  rushed  to  his  assist- 
ance, and  an  attempt  was  made  to  kill  the  octopus  with 


i6   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

a  harpoon,  but  without  success.     Several  of  his  more 
resourceful  companions  then  dived  into  the  water  with 


THE   OCTOPUS   AND   THE    BOAT 


a  big  net  made  of  stout  twine,  which  they  took  right 
underneath  the  octopus,  entangling  the  creature  and  its 
still  living  prey.     The  next  step  was  to  drag  up  both 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  17 

man  and  octopus  into  the  whale-boat,  and  this  done, 
the  unfortunate  Malay  was  at  length  seized  by  his  legs, 
and  dragged  by  sheer  force  out  of  the  frightful  embrace, 
more  dead  than  alive,  as  you  may  suppose.  However, 
we  soon  revived  him  by  putting  him  into  a  very  hot 
bath,  the  water  being  at  such  a  temperature  as  actu- 
ally to  blister  his  skin.  It  is  most  remarkable  that  the 
man  was  not  altogether  drowned,  as  he  had  been  held 
under  water  by  the  tentacles  of  the  octopus  for  rather 
more  than  two  minutes.  But,  like  all  the  Malays  of 
our  party,  this  man  carried  a  knife,  which  he  used  to 
very  good  purpose  on  the  monster's  body  when  first  it 
dragged  him  under  the  water.  These  repeated  stabs 
caused  the  creature  to  keep  rolling  about  on  the  sur- 
face, and  the  unhappy  man  was  in  this  way  enabled 
to  get  an  occasional  breath  of  air;  otherwise  he  must 
infallibly  have  been  drowned.  It  was  a  horrible-looking 
creature,  with  a  slimy  body,  and  a  hideous  cavity  of  a 
mouth.  It  is  the  tentacles  of  the  creature  that  are  so 
dreaded,  on  account  of  the  immense  sucking  power 
which  they  possess. 

After  this  incident  the  divers  always  took  a 
tomahawk  with  them  on  their  expeditions,  in  order 
to  lop  off  the  tentacles  of  any  octopus  that  might  try 
to  attack  them  in  the  boats.  And,  by  the  way,  we 
saw  many  extraordinary  creatures  during  our  cruise. 
I  myself  had  a  serious  fright  one  day  whilst  indulging 
in  a  swim. 

We  had  anchored  in  about  five  fathoms,  and  as  I 
was  proceeding  leisurely  away  from  the  vessel  at  a 
slow  breast  stroke,  a  monstrous  fish,  fully  twenty  feet 
long,  with  an  enormous  hairy  head  and  fierce,  fantastic 
moustaches,  suddenly  reared  up  out  of  the  water,  high 

B 


1 8   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

into  the  air.  I  must  say  that  the  sight  absolutely 
unmanned  me  for  the  moment,  and  when  this  extra- 
ordinary creature  opened  his  enormous  mouth  in  my 
direction,  I  gave  myself  up  for  lost.  It  did  not  molest 
me,  however,  and  I  got  back  to  the  ship  safely,  but  it 
was  some  little  time  before  I  recovered  from  the  terrible 
fright. 

Occasionally  too  we  were  troubled  with  sharks,  but 
the  Malays  did  not  appear  to  be  very  much  afraid  of 
them.  Their  great  dread  was  the  ground  shark,  which 
lay  motionless  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  gave 
no  indication  of  his  presence.  The  result  was  that 
occasionally  the  divers  would  sink  down  to  their 
work  quite  unknowingly  almost  by  the  side  of  one  of 
these  fearful  creatures,  and  in  such  cases  the  diver 
rarely  escaped  without  injury  of  some  kind.  With 
regard  to  the  ordinary  shark,  however,  our  divers 
actually  sought  them.  Their  method  of  capturing  them 
was  almost  incredible  in  its  simplicity  and  daring. 
Three  or  four  of  our  divers  would  go  out  in  a  boat  and 
allow  themselves  to  drift  into  a  big  school  of  sharks. 
Then  one  man,  possessed  of  more  nerve  than  the  rest, 
would  bend  over  the  side  and  smartly  prick  the  first  one 
he  came  across  with  a  spear  taken  out  for  the  purpose. 
The  moment  he  had  succeeded  in  this  the  other 
occupants  of  the  boat  would  commence  yelling  and 
howling  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  at  the  same  time 
beating  the  water  with  their  paddles,  in  order  to 
frighten  away  the  sharks.  This  invariably  succeeded, 
but,  amazing  to  relate,  the  shark  that  had  been  pricked 
always  came  back  alone  a  few  minutes  later  to  see 
what  it  was  that  had  pricked  him.  Care  has  to  be 
taken  not  to  inflict  a  very  severe  wound,  because  the 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  19 

moment  the  other  sharks  taste  the  blood  of  a  wounded 
companion,  they  will  immediately  turn  upon  him  and 
eat  him.  When  the  inquisitive  shark  is  seen  coming 
in  the  direction  of  the  boat,  the  Malay  who  has  ac- 
costed him  in  this  way  quietly  jumps  overboard,  armed 
only  with  his  small  knife  and  a  short  stick  of  hard 
wood,  exactly  like  a  butcher's  skewer,  about  five  inches 
in  length,  and  pointed  at  each  end. 

The  man  floats  stationary  on  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
and,  naturally,  the  shark  makes  for  him.  As  the 
creature  rolls  over  to  bite,  the  wily  Malay  glides  out  of 
his  way  with  a  few  deft  strokes  of  the  left  hand,  whilst 
with  the  right  he  deliberately  plants  the  pointed  skewer 
in  an  upright  position  between  the  open  jaws  of  the  ex- 
pectant monster.  The  result  is  simple,  but  surprising. 
The  shark  is,  of  course,  unable  to  close  its  mouth,  and 
the  water  just  rushes  down  his  throat  and  chokes 
him,  in  consequence  of  the  gills  being  forced  back  so 
tightly  as  to  prevent  the  escape  of  water  through  them 
in  the  natural  way.  Needless  to  remark,  it  requires 
the  greatest  possible  coolness  and  nerve  to  kill  a  shark 
in  this  way,  but  the  Malays  look  upon  it  as  a  favourite 
recreation  and  an  exciting  sport.  When  the  monster 
is  dead  its  slayer  dexterously  climbs  on  to  its  back, 
and  then,  digging  his  knife  into  the  shark's  head  to 
serve  as  a  support  and  means  of  balance,  the  conqueror 
is  towed  back  to  the  ship  astride  his  victim  by  means 
of  a  rope  hauled  by  his  companions  in  their  boats. 

After  many  adventures  and  much  luck  in  the  way  of 
getting  pearls,  our  food  and  water  supply  began  to 
give  out.  This  induced  Captain  Jensen  to  make  for 
the  New  Guinea  main  in  order  to  replenish  his  stores. 
We    soon   reached  a   likely  spot    on    the   coast,   and 


20   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

obtained  all  that  we  wanted  from  the  natives  by  means 
of  barter. 

We  gave  them  tomahawks,  knives,  hoop-iron,  beads, 
turtles,  and  bright-coloured  cloth.  Indeed,  so  friendly 
did  our  intercourse  become  that  parties  of  our  divers 
often  went  ashore  and  joined  the  Papuans  in  their 
sports  and  games.  On  one  of  these  occasions  I  came 
across  a  curious  animal  that  bore  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  a  kangaroo,  and  yet  was  not  more  than 
two  feet  high.  It  could  climb  trees  like  an  opossum 
and  was  of  the  marsupial  family.  The  pigeons,  too, 
which  were  very  plentiful  in  these  parts,  were  as  large 
as  a  big  fowl.  The  headman,  or  chief,  took  quite  an 
interest  in  me,  and  never  seemed  tired  of  conversing 
with  me,  and  pointing  out  the  beauties  of  the  country. 
He  even  showed  me  a  certain  boundary  which  he 
advised  us  not  to  pass,  as  the  natives  beyond  were 
not  under  his  control.  One  day,  however,  a  party 
of  our  Malays,  accompanied  by  myself,  imprudently 
ventured  into  the  forbidden  country,  and  soon  came 
to  a  native  village,  at  which  we  halted.  The  people 
here  were  suspicious  of  us  from  the  first,  and  when 
one  of  my  men  indiscreetly  offended  a  native,  half 
the  village  rose  against  us,  and  we  had  to  beat  a 
retreat.  We  were  making  the  best  of  oiir  way  to 
the  coast  again,  when  the  friendly  chief  came  and 
met  us.  He  interceded  with  the  indignant  tribesmen 
on  our  behalf,  and  succeeded  in  pacifying  them.  On 
reaching  the  ship,  which  was  anchored  within  a  mile 
of  the  coast,  Jensen  complained  to  me  ominously  that 
he  was  getting  fairly  swamped  with  natives,  who  per- 
sisted in  coming  on  board  with  fruit  and  vegetables  for 
barter.      He  said  he  was  getting  quite  nervous  about 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  21 

the  crowds  that  swarmed  over  the  vessel,  the  natives 
going  up  and  down  as  though  they  had  a  perfect  right 
to  do  so. 

"I  don't  like  it,"  said  the  captain,  ^^ and  shall  have 
to  put  my  foot  down." 

Next  morning,  when  the  usual  batch  of  native 
canoes  came  alongside,  we  declined  to  allow  a  single 
man  on  board.  While  we  were  explaining  this  to  them, 
our  friend  the  chief  himself  arrived,  accompanied  by 
half-a-dozen  notables,  most  of  whom  I  knew,  to- 
gether with  the  now  friendly  dignitary  whose  wrath 
we  had  aroused  the  previous  day.  They  were  all  full 
of  dignity  and  anticipation.  Captain  Jensen,  how- 
ever, was  obdurate,  and  refused  permission  to  any 
one  to  come  aboard.  That  was  enough  for  the  chiefs. 
They  went  away  in  high  dudgeon,  followed  immediately 
by  all  the  other  canoes  and  their  occupants.  When 
all  had  disappeared,  a  curious  stillness  came  over  the 
ship,  the  sea,  and  the  tropical  coast,  and  a  strange 
sense  of  impending  danger  seemed  to  oppress  all 
of  us.  We  knew  that  we  had  offended  the  natives, 
and  as  we  could  not  see  a  single  one  of  them  on  the 
beach,  it  was  pretty  evident  that  they  were  brooding 
over  their  grievance.  We  might  have  weighed  anchor 
and  made  for  the  open  sea,  only  unfortunately  there 
was  a  perfect  calm,  and  our  sails,  which  were  set 
in  readiness  for  a  hasty  departure,  hung  limp  and 
motionless.  Suddenly,  as  we  stood  looking  out 
anxiously  over  the  side  in  the  direction  of  the  shore, 
we  were  amazed  to  see  at  least  twenty  fully-equipped 
war-canoes,  each  carrying  from  thirty  to  forty  warriors, 
rounding  the  headland,  some  little  distance  away,  and 
making  straight  for  our  ship.     Now  my  shrewd  Dutch 


2  2   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

partner  had  anticipated  a  possible  attack,  and  had 
accordingly  armed  all  the  Malays  with  tomahawks,  in 
readiness  for  any  attempt  that  might  be  made  to  board 
the  schooner.  We  had  also  taken  off  the  hatches,  and 
made  a  sort  of  fortification  with  them  round  the  wheel. 

Jensen  and  I  armed  ourselves  with  guns,  loaded  our 
little  cannon,  and  prepared  to  make  a  desperate  fight 
for  our  lives  against  the  overwhelming  odds.  In  spite 
of  the  danger  of  our  position,  I  could  not  help  being 
struck  with  the  magnificence  of  the  spectacle  presented 
by  the  great  fleet  of  boats  now  fast  advancing  towards 
us.  The  warriors  had  all  assumed  their  fighting  de- 
corations, with  white  stripes  painted  round  their  dusky 
bodies  to  strike  terror  into  the  beholder.  Their  head- 
dress consisted  of  many-coloured  feathers  projecting 
from  the  hair,  which  they  had  matted  and  caused 
to  stand  bolt  upright  from  the  head.  Each  boat 
had  a  prow  about  three  feet  high,  surmounted  by  a 
grotesquely  carved  figure-head.  The  war-canoes  were 
propelled  by  twelve  men,  paddling  on  either  side. 
When  the  first  came  within  hailing  distance  I  called 
out  and  made  signs  that  they  were  not  to  advance 
unless  their  intentions  were  peaceful.  By  way  of 
reply,  they  merely  brandished  their  bows  and  arrows 
at  us.     There  was  no  mistaking  their  mission. 

It  was  now  quite  evident  that  we  should  have  to 
make  a  fight  for  it,  and  the  natives  were  coming  to 
the  attack  in  such  numbers  as  easily  to  overwhelm 
us  if  they  once  got  on  board.  Our  position  was 
rendered  still  more  awkward  by  the  fact  that  all 
round  the  ship  ropes  were  hanging  down  to  the 
water,  up  which  our  divers  used  to  climb  on  their 
return  from  the  day's  pearling.      These  ropes  were 


JENSEN  S    CHARGE    OF    GRAPE-SHOT 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  25 

attached  to  a  sort  of  hawser  running  round  the  out- 
side bulwarks  of  the  ship.  We  had  not  even  time 
to  haul  these  up,  and  the  enemy  would  certainly 
have  found  them  very  useful  for  boarding  purposes 
had  they  been  allowed  to  get  near  enough.  It  was 
therefore  very  necessary  that  some  decisive  step 
should  be  taken  at  once.  While  we  were  debating 
what  was  best  to  be  done,  we  were  suddenly  greeted 
by  a  shower  of  arrows  from  the  leading  war-canoe. 
Without  waiting  any  longer  I  fired  at  the  leader, 
who  was  standing  in  the  prow,  and  bowled  him  over. 
The  bullet  went  right  through  his  body,  and  then 
bored  a  hole  low  down  in  the  side  of  the  canoe. 
The  amazement  of  the  warriors  on  hearing  the  report 
and  seeing  the  mysterious  damage  done  is  quite 
beyond  description ;  and  before  they  could  recover 
from  their  astonishment,  Jensen  sent  a  charge  of 
grape-shot  right  into  their  midst,  which  shattered 
several  of  the  canoes  and  caused  a  general  halt  in 
the  advance. 

Again  I  made  signs  to  them  not  to  come  nearer,  and 
they  seemed  undecided  what  to  do.  Jabbering  con- 
sultations were  held,  but  while  they  were  thus  hesitat- 
ing ten  more  canoes  swung  round  the  headland,  and 
their  appearance  seemed  to  give  the  advance-guard 
fresh  courage. 

Once  more  they  made  for  our  ship,  but  I  was  ready 
for  them  with  the  little  cannon  we  had  on  board; 
it  had  been  reloaded  with  grape  after  the  first 
discharge.  With  a  roar  the  gun  belched  forth  a 
second  deadly  hail  against  the  advancing  savages,  and 
the  effect  was  to  demoralise  them  completely.  One 
of  the  canoes  was  shattered  to  pieces,  and  nearly  all 


26   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

the  men  in  it  more  or  less  seriously  wounded ; 
whilst  the  occupants  of  several  other  canoes  received 
injuries. 

Quite  a  panic  now  ensued,  and  the  fleet  of  canoes 
got  inextricably  mixed.  Several  showers  of  arrows, 
however,  descended  on  our  deck,  and  some  of  them 
penetrated  the  sails,  but  no  one  was  injured.  The 
natives  were  too  much  afraid  to  advance  any  farther, 
and  as  a  wind  had  now  sprung  up  we  deemed  it  time 
to  make  a  dash  for  liberty.  We  therefore  quietly 
slipped  our  anchor  and,  heading  the  ship  for  the 
open  sea,  glided  swiftly  past  the  enemy's  fleet,  whose 
gaily  decked,  though  sorely  bewildered,  warriors  greeted 
us  with  a  Parthian  flight  of  arrows  as  we  raced  by. 
In  another  half-hour  we  were  well  out  to  sea,  and  able 
to  breathe  freely  once  more. 


CHAPTER    II 

The  three  black  pearls — The  fatal  morning — ^Jensen  and  his  flotilla 
drift  away — Alone  on  the  ship — "Oil  on  the  troubled  waters" — 
A  substitute  for  a  rudder — Smoke  signals — The  whirlpool — The 
savages  attack — I  escape  from  the  blacks — A  strange  monster — 
The  Veielland  strikes  a  reef — Stone  deaf  through  the  big  wave — 
I  leap  into  the  sea — How  Bruno  helped  me  ashore — The  dreary 
island — My  raft — A  horrible  discovery. 

THIS  adventure  made  our  Malay  crew  very  anxious 
to  leave  these  regions.  They  had  not  forgotten 
the  octopus  incident  either,  and  they  nov^r  appointed 
their  serang  to  wait  upon  the  captain — a  kind  of  ''  one- 
man  "  deputation — to  persuade  him,  if  possible,  to  sail 
for  fresh  fishing-grounds.  At  first  Jensen  tried  to  per- 
suade them  to  remain  in  the  same  latitudes,  which  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at,  seeing  the  harvest  he  had 
secured ;  but  they  would  not  listen  to  this,  and  at  last 
he  was  compelled  to  direct  his  ship  towards  some  other 
quarter.  Where  he  took  us  to  I  cannot  sa}^,  but  in 
the  course  of  another  week  we  dropped  anchor  in  some 
practically  unexplored  pearling  grounds,  and  got  to 
work  once  more.  Our  luck  was  still  with  us,  and  we 
continued  increasing  every  day  the  value  of  our  already 
substantial  treasure.  In  these  new  grounds  we  found 
a  particularly  small  shell  very  rich  in  pearls,  which 
required  no  diving  for  at  all.     They  were  secured  by 

means  of  a  trawl  or  scoop  dragged  from  the  stern  of 

27 


2  8    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

the  lifeboat ;  and  when  the  tide  was  low  the  men 
jumped  into  the  shallow  water  and  picked  them  up  at 
their  ease. 

One  morning,  as  I  was  opening  the  shells  as  usual, 
out  from  one  dropped  three  magnificent  black  pearls. 
I  gazed  at  them,  fascinated — why,  I  know  not.  Ah ! 
those  terrible  three  black  pearls ;  would  to  God  they 
had  never  been  found  !  When  I  showed  them  to  the 
captain  he  became  very  excited,  and  said  that,  as  they 
were  worth  nearly  all  the  others  put  together,  it  would 
be  well  worth  our  while  trying  to  find  more  like  them. 
Now,  this  meant  stopping  at  sea  longer  than  was 
either  customary  or  advisable.  The  pearling  season 
was  practically  at  an  end,  and  the  yearly  cyclonic 
changes  were  actually  due,  but  the  captain  had  got  the 
^^ pearl  fever"  very  badly  and  flatly  refused  to  leave. 
Already  we  had  made  an  enormous  haul,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  the  stock  in  my  charge  Jensen  had  rows  of 
pickle  bottles  full  of  pearls  in  his  cabin,  which  he 
would  sit  and  gloat  over  for  hours  like  a  miser  with 
his  gold.  He  kept  on  saying  that  there  must  be 
more  of  these  black  pearls  to  be  obtained ;  the  three 
we  had  found  could  not  possibly  be  isolated  specimens 
and  so  on.  Accordingly,  we  kept  our  divers  at  work 
day  after  day  as  usual.  Of  course,  I  did  not  know 
much  about  the  awful  dangers  to  which  we  were  ex- 
posing ourselves  by  remaining  out  in  such  uncertain 
seas  when  the  cyclones  were  due;  and  I  did  not,  I 
confess,  see  any  great  reason  why  we  should  not  con- 
tinue pearling.     I  was  inexperienced,  you  see. 

The  pearl-fishing  season,  as  I  afterwards  learned, 
extends  from  November  to  May.  Well,  May  came 
and  went,  and  we  were  still  hard  at  work,  hoping  that 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  29 

each  day  would  bring  another  haul  of  black  pearls  to 
our  store  of  treasure ;  in  this,  however,  we  were  dis- 
appointed. And  yet  the  captain  became  more  deter- 
mined than  ever  to  find  some.  He  continued  to  take 
charge  of  the  whale-boat  whenever  the  divers  went 
out  to  work,  and  he  personally  superintended  their 
operations.  He  knew  very  well  that  he  had  already 
kept  them  at  work  longer  than  he  ought  to  have 
done,  and  it  was  only  by  a  judicious  distribution  of 
more  jewellery,  pieces  of  cloth,  &c.,  that  he  withheld 
them  from  openly  rebelling  against  the  extended  stay. 
The  serang  told  him  that  if  the  men  did  once  go  on 
strike,  nothing  would  induce  them  to  resume  work, 
they  would  simply  sulk,  he  said ;  and  die  out  of  sheer 
disappointment  and  pettishness.  So  the  captain  was 
compelled  to  treat  them  more  amiably  than  usual.  At 
the  very  outside  their  contract  would  only  be  for  nine 
months.  Sometimes  when  he  showed  signs  of  being 
in  a  cantankerous  mood  because  the  haul  of  shells  did 
not  please  him,  the  serang  would  say  to  him  defiantly, 
**Come  on;  take  it  out  of  me  if  you  are  not  satisfied." 
But  Jensen  never  accepted  the  challenge.  As  the  days 
passed,  I  thought  the  weather  showed  indications  of 
a  change;  for  one  thing,  the  aneroid  began  jumping 
about  in  a  very  uneasy  manner.  I  called  Jensen's 
attention  to  the  matter,  but  he  was  too  much  interested 
in  his  hunt  for  black  pearls  to  listen  to  me. 

And  now  I  pass  to  the  fatal  day  that  made  me  an 
outcast  from  civilisation  for  so  many  weary  years. 
Early  one  morning  in  July  1864,  Jensen  went  off  as 
usual  with  the  whole  of  his  crew,  leaving  me  absolutely 
alone  in  charge  of  the  ship.  The  women  had  often 
accompanied  the  divers  on  their  expeditions,  and  did 


30   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

so  on  this  occasion,  being  rather  expert  at  the  work, 
which  they  looked  upon  as  sport. 

Whenever  I  look  back  upon  the  events  of  that 
dreadful  day,  I  am  filled  with  astonishment  that  the 
captain  should  have  been  so  mad  as  to  leave  the  ship 
at  all.  Only  an  hour  before  he  left,  a  tidal  wave  broke 
over  the  stern,  and  flooded  the  cabins  with  a  perfect 
deluge.  Both  Jensen  and  I  were  down  below  at  the 
time,  and  came  in  for  an  awful  drenching.  This  in 
itself  was  a  clear  and  ominous  indication  of  atmospheric 
disturbance ;  but  all  that  poor  Jensen  did  was  to  have 
the  pumps  set  to  work,  and  after  the  cabins  were 
comparatively  dry  he  proceeded  once  more  to  the  pearl 
banks  that  fascinated  him  so,  and  on  which  he  probably 
sleeps  to  this  day.  The  tide  was  favourable  when  he 
left,  and  I  watched  the  fleet  of  little  boats  following  in 
the  wake  of  the  whale-boat,  until  they  were  some  three 
miles  distant  from  the  ship,  when  they  stopped  for 
preparations  to  be  made  for  the  work  of  diving.  I 
had  no  presentiment  whatever  of  the  catastrophe  that 
awaited  them  and  me. 

A  cool,  refreshing  breeze  had  been  blowing  up  to 
his  time,  but  the  wind  now  developed  a  sudden  vio- 
lence, and  the  sea  was  lashed  into  huge  waves  that 
quickly  swamped  nearly  every  one  of  the  little  cockle- 
shell boats.  Fortunately,  they  could  not  sink,  and  as 
I  watched  I  saw  that  the  Malays  who  were  thus 
thrown  into  the  water  clung  to  the  sides  of  the  little 
boats,  and  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  big  craft 
in  charge  of  Captain  Jensen.  Every  moment  the  sea 
became  more  and  more  turbulent  as  the  wind  quickened 
to  a  hurricane.  When  all  the  Malays  had  scrambled 
into  the  whale-boat,  they  attempted  to  pull  back  to  the 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  31 

ship,  but  I  could  see  that  they  were  unable  to  make 
the  slightest  headway  against  the  tremendous  sea  that 
was  running,  although  they  worked  frantically  at  the 
oars. 

On  the  contrary,  I  was  horrified  to  see  that  they 
were  gradually  drifting  away  from  7ne^  and  being 
carried  farther  and  farther  out  across  the  illimitable 
sea.  I  was  nearly  distracted  at  the  sight,  and  I  racked 
my  brains  to  devise  some  means  of  helping  them,  but 
could  think  of  nothing  feasible.  I  thought  first  of  all 
of  trying  to  sHp  the  anchor  and  let  the  ship  drift  in 
their  direction,  but  I  was  by  no  means  sure  that  she 
would  actually  do  this.  Besides,  I  reflected,  she  might 
strike  on  some  of  the  insidious  coral  reefs  that  abound 
in  those  fair  but  terribly  dangerous  seas.  So  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  better  to  let  her 
remain  where  she  was — at  least,  for  the  time  being. 
Moreover,  I  felt  sure  that  the  captain,  with  his  know- 
ledge of  those  regions,  would  know  of  some  island  or 
convenient  sandbank,  perhaps  not  very  far  distant,  on 
which  he  might  run  his  boat  for  safety  until  the  storm 
had  passed. 

The  boats  receded  farther  and  farther  from  view, 
until,  about  nine  in  the  morning,  I  lost  sight  of  them 
altogether.  They  had  started  out  soon  after  sunrise. 
It  then  occurred  to  me  that  I  ought  to  put  the  ship 
into  some  sort  of  condition  to  enable  her  to  weather 
the  storm,  which  was  increasing  instead  of  abating. 
This  was  not  the  first  storm  I  had  experienced  on 
board  the  Veielland^  so  I  knew  pretty  well  what  to  do.. 
First  of  all,  then,  I  battened  down  the  hatches;  this 
done,  I  made  every  movable  thing  on  deck  as  secure 
as  I  possibly  could.     Fortunately  all  the  sails  were 


32   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

furled  at  the  time,  so  I  had  no  trouble  with  them.  By 
mid-day  it  was  blowing  so  hard  that  I  positively  could 
not  stand  upright,  but  had  to  crawl  about  on  my  hands 
and  knees,  otherwise  I  should  have  been  hurled  over- 
board. I  also  attached  myself  to  a  long  rope,  and 
fastened  the  other  end  to  one  of  the  masts,  so  that  in 
the  event  of  my  being  washed  into  the  raging  sea,  I 
could  pull  myself  on  board  again. 

Blinding  rain  had  been  falHng  most  of  the  time,  and 
the  waves  came  dashing  over  the  deck  as  though  long- 
ing to  engulf  the  little  ship ;  but  she  rode  them  all  in 
splendid  style.  The  climax  was  reached  about  two 
o'clock,  when  a  perfect  cyclone  was  raging,  and  the 
end  seemed  very  near  for  me.  It  made  me  shudder 
to  listen  to  the  wind  screaming  and  moaning  round 
the  bare  poles  of  the  sturdy  little  vessel,  which 
rose  on  veritable  mountains  of  water  and  crashed  as 
suddenly  into  seething  abysses  that  made  my  heart 
stand  still.  Then  the  weather  suddenly  became  calm 
once  more — a  change  that  was  as  unexpected  as  the 
advent  of  the  storm  itself.  The  sky,  however,  con- 
tinued very  black  and  threatening,  and  the  sea  was 
still  somewhat  boisterous ;  but  both  wind  and  rain  had 
practically  subsided,  and  I  could  now  look  around  me 
without  feeling  that  if  I  stirred  I  was  a  doomed  man. 
I  clambered  up  the  lower  portion  of  the  main  rigging, 
but  only  saw  black,  turbulent  waters,  hissing  and 
heaving,  and  raging  on  every  side,  and  seemingly 
stretching  away  into  infinity.  With  terrible  force 
the  utter  awfulness  and  hopelessness  of  my  position 
dawned  upon  me,  yet  I  did  not  despair.  I  next 
thought  it  advisable  to  try  and  slip  my  anchor,  and 
let  the  ship  drift,  for  I  still  half-fancied  that  perhaps 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  33 

I  might  come  across  my  companions  somewhere. 
Before  I  could  free  the  vessel,  however,  the  wind 
veered  completely  round,  and,  to  my  horror  and  de- 
spair, sent  a  veritable  mountain  of  water  on  board,  that 
carried  away  nearly  all  the  bulwarks,  the  galley,  the 
top  of  the  companion-way,  and,  worst  of  all,  completely 
wrenched  off  the  wheel.  Compasses  and  charts  were 
all  stored  in  the  companion-way,  and  were  therefore 
lost  for  ever.  Then,  indeed,  I  felt  the  end  was  near. 
Fortunately,  I  was  for'ard  at  the  time,  or  I  must  in- 
evitably have  been  swept  into  the  appalling  waste  of 
whirling,  mountainous  waters.  This  lashing  of  myself 
to  the  mast,  by  the  way,  was  the  means  of  saving  my 
life  time  after  time.  Soon  after  the  big  sea — which  I 
had  hoped  was  a  final  effort  of  the  terrible  storm — the 
gale  returned  and  blew  in  the  opposite  direction  with 
even  greater  fury  than  before.  I  spent  an  awful  time 
of  it  the  whole  night  long,  without  a  soul  to  speak  to 
or  help  me,  and  every  moment  I  thought  the  ship  must 
go  down  in  that  fearful  sea.  The  only  living  thing  on 
board  beside  myself  was  the  captain's  dog,  which  I 
could  occasionally  hear  howling  dismally  in  the  cabin 
below,  where  I  had  shut  him  in  when  the  cyclone  first 
burst  upon  me. 

Among  the  articles  carried  overboard  by  the  big  sea 
that  smashed  the  wheel  was  a  large  cask  full  of  oil, 
made  from  turtle  fat,  in  which  we  always  kept  a 
supply  of  fresh  meats,  consisting  mainly  of  pork  and 
fowls.  This  cask  contained  perhaps  twenty  gallons, 
and  when  it  overturned,  the  oil  flowed  all  over  the 
decks  and  trickled  into  the  sea.  The  effect  was 
simply  magical.  Almost  immediately  the  storm-tossed 
waves  in  the  vicinity  of  the  ship,  which  hitherto  had 

c 


34   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

been  raging  mountains  high,  quieted  down  in  a  way 
that  filled  me  with  astonishment.  This  tranquilHty 
prevailed  as  long  as  the  oil  lasted  ;  but  as  soon  as  the 
supply  was  exhausted  the  giant  waves  became  as 
turbulent  and  mountainous  as  ever. 

All  night  long  the  gale  blew  the  ship  blindly  hither 
and  thither,  and  it  was  not  until  just  before  daybreak 
that  the  storm  showed  any  signs  of  abating.  By  six 
o'clock,  however,  only  a  slight  wind  was  blowing,  and 
the  sea  no  longer  threatened  to  engulf  me  and  my 
little  vessel.  I  was  now  able  to  look  about  me,  and 
see  what  damage  had  been  done ;  and  you  may  imagine 
my  relief  when  I  found  that  the  ship  was  still  sound 
and  water-tight,  although  the  bulwarks  were  all  gone, 
and  she  had  all  the  appearance  of  a  derelict.  One  of 
the  first  things  I  did  was  to  go  down  and  unloose  the 
dog — poor  Bruno.  The  delight  of  the  poor  creature 
knew  no  bounds,  and  he  rushed  madly  up  on  deck, 
barking  frantically  for  his  absent  master.  He  seemed 
very  much  surprised  to  find  no  one  aboard  besides 
myself. 

Alas  !  I  never  saw  Peter  Jensen  again,  nor  the  forty 
Malays  and  the  two  women.  Jensen  may  have  es- 
caped; he  may  even  have  lived  to  read  these  lines; 
God  only  knows  what  was  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate 
fleet  of  pearl-fishers.  Priggish  and  uncharitable  people 
may  ejaculate :  "  The  reward  of  cupidity  !  "  But  I  say, 
''Judge  not,  lest  ye  also  be  judged." 

As  the  morning  had  now  become  beautifully  fine,  I 
thought  I  might  attempt  to  get  out  some  spare  sails. 
I  obtained  what  I  wanted  from  the  fo'c'sle,  and  after  a 
good  deal  of  work  managed  to  "  bend  "  a  mainsail  and 
staysail.     Being  without  compass  or  chart,  however,  I 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  35 

knew  not  where  I  was,  nor  could  I  decide  what  course 
to  take  in  order  to  reach  land.  I  had  a  vague  idea 
that  the  seas  in  those  regions  were  studded  with 
innumerable  little  islands  and  sandbanks  known  only 
to  the  pearl-fishers,  and  it  seemed  inevitable  that  I 
must  run  aground  somewhere  or  get  stranded  upon  a 
coral  reef  after  I  had  shpped  the  cable. 

However,  I  did  not  see  what  advantage  was  to  be 
gained  by  remaining  where  I  was,  so  I  fixed  from  the 
stern  a  couple  of  long  sweeps,  or  steering  oars,  twenty- 
six  feet  long,  and  made  them  answer  the  purpose  of  a 
rudder.  These  arrangements  occupied  me  two  or 
three  days,  and  then,  when  everything  was  completed 
to  my  satisfaction,  and  the  ship  was  in  sailing  trim,  I 
gave  the  Veielland  her  freedom.  This  I  managed 
as  follows  :  The  moment  the  chain  was  at  its  tautest 
— at  its  greatest  tension — I  gave  it  a  violent  blow 
with  a  big  axe,  and  it  parted.  I  steered  due  west, 
taking  my  observations  by  the  sun  and  my  own 
shadow  at  morning,  noon,  and  evening.  For  I  had 
been  taught  to  reckon  the  degree  of  latitude  from  the 
number  of  inches  of  my  shadow.  After  a  time  I 
altered  my  course  to  west  by  south,  hoping  that  I 
might  come  upon  one  of  the  islands  of  the  Dutch 
Indies, — Timorland,  for  instance,  but  day  after  day 
passed  without  land  coming  in  sight. 

Imagine  the  situation,  if  you  can :  alone  on  a  dis- 
abled ship  in  the  limitless  ocean, — tortured  with  doubts 
and  fears  about  the  fate  of  my  comrades,  and  filled 
with  horror  and  despair  at  my  own  miserable  prospects 
for  the  future. 

I  did  not  sail  the  ship  at  night,  but  got  out  a  sea- 
anchor  (using  a  float  and  a  long  coir  rope),  and  lay-to 


36   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

while  I  turned  in  for  a  sleep.  I  would  be  up  at  day- 
break next  morning,  and  as  the  weather  continued 
beautifully  fine,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  under 
way  again.  At  last  the  expected  happened.  One 
afternoon,  without  any  warning  whatsoever,  the  vessel 
struck  heavily  on  a  reef.  I  hurriedly  constructed  a 
raft  out  of  the  hatches  and  spare  spars,  and  put  biscuits 
and  water  aboard,  after  which  I  landed  on  the  rocks. 
When  the  tide  reached  its  lowest  point  the  stern  of 
the  Veielland  was  left  fully  twenty  feet  out  of  water ^ 
securely  jammed  between  two  high  pinnacles  of  coral 
rock.  The  sight  was  remarkable  in  the  extreme.  The 
sails  were  still  set,  and  the  stiff  breeze  that  was  blow- 
ing dead  against  them  caused  them  to  belly  out  just  as 
though  the  craft  were  afloat,  and  practically  helped  to 
keep  the  vessel  in  position.  The  bows  were  much 
higher  than  the  stern,  the  line  of  the  decks  being 
at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees.  In  this 
remarkable  situation  she  remained  secure  until  the 
turning  of  the  tide.  My  only  hope  was  that  she 
would  not  suffer  from  the  tremendous  strain  to  which 
she  was  necessarily  being  subjected.  It  seemed  to 
me  every  minute  that  she  would  free  herself  from 
her  singular  position  between  the  rocks,  and  glide 
down  bows  foremost  into  the  sea  to  disappear  for 
ever.  But  the  sails  kept  her  back.  How  earnestly 
I  watched  the  rising  of  the  waters;  and  night 
came  on  as  I  waited.  Slowly  and  surely  they  crept 
up  the  bows,  and  the  ship  graduall}''  assumed  her 
natural  level  until  at  length  the  stanch  little  craft 
floated  safe  and  sound  once  more,  apparently  very 
little  the  worse  for  her  strange  experience.  And  then 
away  I  went  on  my  way — by  this  time  almost  schooled 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  37 

to  indiflference.  Had  she  gone  down  I  must  inevitably 
have  succumbed  on  those  coral  reefs,  for  the  stock  of 
biscuits  and  w^ater  I  had  been  able  to  put  aboard  the 
raft  would  only  have  lasted  a  very  few  days. 

For  nearly  a  fortnight  after  the  day  of  the  great 
storm  I  kept  on  the  same  course  without  experiencing 
any  unpleasant  incident  or  check,  always  excepting  the 
curious  threatened  wreck  which  I  have  just  mentioned. 

Just  before  dusk  on  the  evening  of  the  thirteenth 
day,  I  caught  sight  of  an  island  in  the  distance — 
Melville  Island  I  now  know  it  to  be ;  and  I  was 
greatly  puzzled  to  see  smoke  floating  upwards  ap- 
parently from  many  fires  kindled  on  the  beach.  I 
knew  that  they  were  signals  of  some  kind,  and  at 
first  I  fancied  that  it  must  be  one  of  the  friendly 
Malay  islands  that  I  was  approaching.  A  closer 
scrutiny  of  the  smoke  signals,  however,  soon  con- 
vinced me  that  I  was  mistaken.  As  I  drew  nearer,  I 
saw  a  number  of  natives,  perfectly  nude,  running 
wildly  about  on  the  beach  and  brandishing  their  spears 
in  my  direction. 

I  did  not  like  the  look  of  things  at  all,  but  when  I 
tried  to  turn  the  head  of  the  ship  to  skirt  the  island 
instead  of  heading  straight  on,  I  found  to  my  vexa- 
tion that  I  was  being  carried  forward  by  a  strong  tide 
or  current  straight  into  what  appeared  to  be  a  large 
bay  or  inlet.  I  had  no  alternative  but  to  let  myself 
drift,  and  soon  afterwards  found  myself  in  a  sort  of 
natural  harbour  three  or  four  miles  wide,  with  very 
threatening  coral  reefs  showing  above  the  surface. 
Still  the  current  drew  me  helplessly  onward,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  the  ship  was  caught  in  a  dangerous 
whirlpool,  round  which  she  was  carried  several  times 


38   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

before  I  managed  to  extricate  her.  Next  we  were 
drawn  close  in  to  some  rocks,  and  I  had  to  stand 
resolutely  by  with  an  oar  in  order  to  keep  the  vessel's 
head  from  striking.  It  was  a  time  of  most  trying 
excitement  for  me,  and  I  wonder  to  this  day  how  it 
was  that  the  Veielland  did  not  strike  and  founder  then 
and  there,  considering,  firstly,  that  she  was  virtually  a 
derelict,  and  secondly,  that  there  was  no  living  creature 
on  board  to  navigate  her  save  myself. 

I  was  beginning  to  despair  of  ever  pulling  the 
vessel  through,  when  we  suddenly  entered  a  narrow 
strait.  I  knew  that  I  was  in  a  waterway  between 
two  islands  —  Apsley  Strait,  dividing  Melville  and 
Bathurst  Islands,  as  I  have  since  learned. 

The  warlike  and  threatening  natives  had  now  been 
left  behind  long  ago,  and  I  never  thought  of  meeting 
any  other  hostile  people,  when  just  as  I  had  reached 
the  narrowest  part  of  the  waterway,  I  was  startled  by 
the  appearance  of  a  great  horde  of  naked  blacks — 
giants,  every  one  of  them — on  the  rocks  above  me. 

They  were  tremendously  excited,  and  greeted  me 
first  of  all  with  a  shower  of  spears.  Fortunately,  on 
encountering  the  first  lot  of  threatening  blacks,  I  had 
prepared  a  shelter  for  myself  on  deck  by  means  of  the 
hatches  reared  up  endwise  against  the  stanchions,  and 
so  the  spears  fell  harmlessly  around  me.  Next,  the 
natives  sent  a  volley  of  boomerangs  on  board,  but  with- 
out any  result.  Some  of  these  curious  weapons  hit  the 
sails  and  fell  impotently  on  the  deck,  whilst  some  re- 
turned to  their  throwers,  who  were  standing  on  the 
rocks  about  fifty  yards  away,  near  the  edge  of  the 
water.  I  afterwards  secured  the  boomerangs  that 
came    on    board,    and   found    that   they   were    about 


AS   TOLD    BY    HIMSELF 


39 


twenty-four  inches  in  length,  shaped  hke  the  blade 
of  a  sickle,  and  measured  three  or  four  inches  across 
at  the  widest  part. 
They  were  made 
of  extremely  hard 
wood,     and      were      a  i| 


ATTACKED    BY    SAVAGES 


undoubtedly  capable  of  doing  considerable  injury  when 
dexterously  and  accurately  thrown.  The  blacks  kept 
up  a  terrific  hubbub  on  shore,  yelling  like  madmen, 


40   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

and  hurling  at  me  showers  of  barbed  spears.  The 
fact  that  they  had  boomerangs  convinced  me  that  I 
must  be  nearing  the  Austrahan  mainland.  All  this 
time  the  current  was  carrying  the  Veielland  rapidly 
along,  and  I  had  soon  left  the  natives  jabbering 
furiously  far  behind  me. 

At  last  I  could  see  the  open  sea  once  more,  and  at 
the  mouth  of  the  strait  was  a  little  low,  wooded  island, 
where  I  thought  I  might  venture  to  land.  As  I  was 
approaching  it,  however,  yet  another  crowd  of  blacks, 
all  armed,  came  rushing  down  to  the  beach ;  they 
jumped  into  their  catamarans,  or  "  floats,"  and  paddled 
out  towards  me. 

After  my  previous  experience  I  deemed  it  advisable 
not  to  let  them  get  too  near,  so  I  hoisted  the  mainsail 
again  and  stood  for  the  open  sea.  There  was  a  good 
supply  of  guns  and  ammunition  on  board,  and  it  would 
have  been  an  easy  matter  for  me  to  have  sunk  one  or 
two  of  the  native  catamarans,  which  are  mere  primitive 
rafts  or  floats,  and  so  cooled  their  enthusiasm  a  bit; 
but  I  refrained,  on  reflecting  that  I  should  not  gain 
anything  by  this  action. 

By  this  time  I  had  abandoned  all  hope  of  ever 
coming  up  with  my  friends,  but,  of  course,  I  did  not 
despair  of  reaching  land — although  I  hardly  knew  in 
what  direction  I  ought  to  shape  my  course.  Still,  I 
thought  that  if  I  kept  due  west,  I  should  eventually 
sight  Timor  or  some  other  island  of  the  Dutch  Indies, 
and  so,  for  the  next  three  or  four  days,  I  sailed  steadily 
on  without  further  incident. 

About  a  week  after  meeting  with  the  hostile  blacks, 
half  a  gale  sprang  up,  and  I  busied  myself  in  putting 
the  ship  into  trim  to  weather  the  storm,  which  I  knew 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  41 

was  inevitable.  I  happened  to  be  looking  over  the 
stern  watching  the  clouds  gathering  in  dark,  black 
masses,  when  a  strange  upheaval  of  the  waters  took 
place  almost  at  my  feet,  and  a  huge  black  fish,  like  an 
exaggerated  porpoise,  leaped  into  the  air  close  to  the 
stern  of  my  little  vessel. 

It  was  a  monstrous,  ungainly  looking  creature,  nearly 
the  size  of  a  small  whale.  The  strange  way  it  dis- 
ported itself  alongside  the  ship  filled  me  with  all 
manner  of  doubtings,  and  I  was  heartily  thankful  when 
it  suddenly  disappeared  from  sight.  The  weather  then 
became  more  boisterous,  and  as  the  day  advanced  I 
strove  my  utmost  to  keep  the  ship's  head  well  before 
the  wind ;  it  was  very  exhausting  work.  I  was  unable 
to  keep  anything  like  an  adequate  look-out  ahead, 
and  had  to  trust  to.  Providence  to  pull  me  through 
safely. 

All  this  time  I  did  not  want  for  food.  Certainly  I 
could  not  cook  anything,  but  there  was  any  quantity 
of  tinned  provisions.  And  I  fed  Bruno,  too.  I  con- 
versed with  him  almost  hourly,  and  derived  much 
encouragement  and  sympathy  therefrom.  One  morning 
sometime  between  the  fifteenth  and  twentieth  day,  I 
was  scanning  the  horizon  with  my  customary  eager- 
ness, when  suddenly,  on  looking  ahead,  I  found  the 
sea  white  with  the  foam  of  crashing  breakers ;  I  knew 
I  must  be  in  the  vicinity  of  a  sunken  reef  I  tried 
to  get  the  ship  round,  but  it  was  too  late.  I  couldn't 
make  the  slightest  impression  upon  her,  and  she  forged 
stolidly  forward  to  her  doom. 

A  few  minutes  later  her  keel  came  into  violent 
contact  with  a  coral  reef,  and  as  she  grated  slowly 
over  it,  the  poor  thing  seemed  to  shiver  from  stem  to 


42   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

stern.  The  shock  was  so  severe  that  I  was  thrown 
heavily  to  the  deck.  Bruno  could  make  nothing  what- 
ever of  it,  so  he  found  relief  in  doleful  howls.  While 
the  vessel  remained  stuck  on  the  rocks,  I  was  looking 
out  anxiously  from  the  rigging,  when,  without  a 
moment's  warning,  a  gigantic  wave  came  toppling  and 
crashing  overboard  from  the  stern,  overwhelming  me 
in  the  general  destruction  that  followed.  I  was  dashed 
with  tremendous  force  on  to  the  deck,  and  when  I 
picked  myself  up,  bruised  and  bleeding,  the  first  thing 
I  was  conscious  of  was  a  deathly  stillness,  which  filled 
me  with  vague  amazement,  considering  that  but  a  few 
moments  before  my  ears  had  been  filled  with  the  roar 
and  crash  of  the  breakers.  And  I  could  see  that  the 
storm  was  still  raging  with  great  fury,  although  not  a 
sound  reached  my  ears. 

Gradually  the  horrible  truth  dawned  upon  me — / 
was  stone  deaf!  The  blow  on  the  head  from  the  great 
wave  had  completely  deprived  me  of  all  sense  of 
hearing.  How  depressed  I  felt  when  I  realised  this 
awful  fact  no  one  can  imagine.  Nevertheless,  things 
were  not  altogether  hopeless,  for  next  morning  I  felt 
a  sudden  crack  in  my  left  ear,  and  immediately  after- 
wards I  heard  once  more  the  dull  roar  of  the  surf, 
the  whistling  of  the  wind,  and  the  barking  of  my 
affectionate  dog.  My  right  ear,  however,  was  perma- 
nently injured,  and  to  this  day  I  am  decidedly  deaf 
in  that  organ.  I  was  just  beginning  to  think  that  we 
had  passed  over  the  most  serious  part  of  the  danger, 
when  to  my  utter  despair  I  again  heard  that  hideous 
grating  sound,  and  knew  she  had  struck  upon  another 
reef.  She  stuck  there  for  a  time,  but  was  again  forced 
on,  and  presently  floated  in  deep  water.     The  pitiless 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  43 

reefs  were  now  plainly  visible  on  all  sides,  and  some 
distance  away  I  could  see  what  appeared  to  be  nothing 
more  than  a  little  sandbank  rising  a  few  feet  above 
the  waters  of  the  lagoon. 

While  I  was  watching  and  waiting  for  developments 
the  deck  of  the  vessel  suddenly  started,  and  she  began 
rapidly  to  settle  down  by  the  stern.  Fortunately, 
however,  at  that  point  the  water  was  not  excessively 
deep.  When  I  saw  that  nothing  could  save  the  ship, 
and  that  her  deck  was  all  but  flush  with  the  water, 
I  loosened  several  of  the  fittings,  as  well  as  some 
spars,  casks,  and  chests,  in  the  hope  that  they  might 
drift  to  land  and  perhaps  be  of  service  to  me  after- 
wards. I  remained  on  board  as  long  as  I  possibly 
could,  trying  to  build  a  raft  with  which  to  get  some 
things  ashore,  but  I  hadn't  time  to  finish  it. 

Up  and  up  came  the  inexorable  water,  and  at  last, 
signalling  to  Bruno  to  follow  me,  I  leaped  into  the  sea 
and  commenced  to  swim  towards  the  sandbank.  Of 
course,  all  the  boats  had  been  lost  when  the  pearling 
fleet  disappeared.  The  sea  was  still  very  rough,  and 
as  the  tide  was  against  us,  I  found  it  extremely 
exhausting  work.  The  dog  seemed  to  understand 
that  I  was  finding  it  a  dreadful  strain,  for  he  swam 
immediately  in  front  of  me,  and  kept  turning  round 
again  and  again  as  though  to  see  if  I  were  following 
safely. 

By  dint  of  tremendous  struggling  I  managed  to  get 
close  up  to  the  shore,  but  found  it  utterly  impossible 
to  climb  up  and  land.  Every  time  I  essayed  to  plant 
my  legs  on  the  beach,  the  irresistible  backwash  swept 
me  down,  rolling  me  head  over  heels,  and  in  my 
exhausted  condition  this  filled  me  with  despair.     On 


44    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

one  occasion  this  backwash  sent  me  spinning  into 
deep  water  again,  and  I  am  sure  I  should  have  been 
drowned  had  not  my  brave  dog  come  to  my  rescue 
and  seized  me  by  my  hair — which,  I  should  have 
explained,  I  had  always  worn  long  from  the  days  of 
my  childhood.     Well,  my  dog  tugged  and  tugged  at 


HOW    BRUNO   HELPED    ME 


me  until  he  had  got  me  half-way  through  the  breakers, 
nor  did  this  exertion  seem  to  cause  him  much  trouble 
in  swimming. 

I  then  exerted  myself  sufficiently  to  allow  of  his 
letting  go  my  hair,  whilst  I  took  the  end  of  his  tail 
between  my  teeth,  and  let  him  help  me  ashore  in  this 
peculiar  way.     He  was  a  remarkably  strong  and  saga- 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  45 

cious  brute — an  Australian  dog — and  he  seemed  to 
enjoy  the  task.  At  length  I  found  myself  on  my  legs 
upon  the  beach,  though  hardly  able  to  move  from 
exhaustion  of  mind  and  body.  When  at  length  I  had 
recovered  sufficiently  to  walk  about,  I  made  a  hasty 
survey  of  the  little  island  or  sandbank  upon  which  I 
found  myself  Thank  God,  I  did  not  realise  at  that 
moment  that  I  was  doomed  to  spend  a  soul-killing  two 
and  a  half  years  on  that  desolate,  microscopical  strip 
of  sand !  Had  I  done  so  I  must  have  gone  raving 
mad.  It  was  an  appalling,  dreary-looking  spot,  without 
one  single  tree  or  bush  growing  upon  it  to  relieve  the 
terrible  monotony.  I  tell  you,  words  can  never  describe 
the  horror  of  the  agonising  months  as  they  crawled  by. 
**  My  island  "  was  nothing  but  a  Httle  sand-spit,  with 
here  and  there  a  few  tufts  of  grass  struggling  through 
its  parched  surface.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  sand  was 
only  four  or  five  inches  deep  in  most  places,  and  under- 
neath was  solid  coral  rock. 

Think  of  it,  ye  who  have  envied  the  fate  of  the  cast- 
away on  a  gorgeous  and  fertile  tropical  island  perhaps 
miles  in  extent !  It  was  barely  a  Jiundred  yards  in 
length,  ten  yards  wide^  and  only  eight  feet  above  sea- 
level  at  high  water  !  There  was  no  sign  of  animal  life 
upon  it,  but  birds  were  plentiful  enough — particularly 
pelicans.  My  tour  of  the  island  occupied  perhaps  ten 
minutes ;  and  you  may  perhaps  form  some  conception 
of  my  utter  dismay  on  failing  to  come  across  any  trace 
of  fresh  water. 

With  what  eager  eyes  did  I  look  towards  the  ship 
then  !  So  long  as  she  did  not  break  up  I  was  safe 
because  there  were  water  and  provisions  in  plenty  on 
board.     And  how  I  thanked  my  God  for  the  adamant 


46   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

bulwarks  of  coral  that  protected  my  ark  from  the  fury 
of  the  treacherous  seas !  As  the  weather  became 
calmer,  and  a  brilliant  moon  had  risen,  I  decided  to 
swim  back  to  the  ship,  and  bring  some  food  and 
clothing  ashore  from  her. 

I  reached  the  wreck  without  much  trouble,  and 
clambered  on  board,  but  could  do  very  little  in  the  way 
of  saving  goods,  as  the  decks  were  still  below  water. 
However,  I  dived,  or  rather  ducked,  for  the  depth  of 
water  was  only  four  or  five  feet,  into  the  cabin  and 
secured  some  blankets,  but  I  could  not  lay  my  hands 
on  any  food. 

After  infinite  trouble  I  managed  to  make  some  sort 
of  a  raft  out  of  pieces  of  wood  I  found  lying  loose  and 
floating  about,  and  upon  this  platform  I  placed  the 
blankets,  an  oak  chest,  and  one  or  two  other  articles 
I  proposed  taking  ashore.  In  the  oak  chest  were  a 
number  of  flags,  some  clothing  and  medicine  together 
with  my  case  of  pearls  and  the  four  medical  books. 
But  after  I  had  launched  it,  I  found  that  the  tide  was 
still  running  out,  and  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  get 
anything  ashore  that  night.  The  weather  was  beauti- 
fully fine,  however,  and  as  the  forepart  of  the  ship  was 
well  out  of  water,  I  decided  to  remain  on  board  and 
get  an  hour  or  two's  sleep,  which  I  needed  badly.  The 
night  passed  without  incident,  and  I  was  astir  a  little 
before  dawn. 

As  the  tide  was  now  favourable,  I  loosed  my  raft 
and  swam  it  ashore.  When  I  gained  the  island,  I 
made  another  survey  of  it,  to  find  the  most  suitable 
spot  for  pitching  my  camp,  and  in  the  course  of  my 
wanderings  I  made  a  discovery  that  filled  me  with 
horror   and    the   anguish    of   blackest    despair.      My 


AS  TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  47 

curiosity  was  first  attracted  by  a  human  skull  that 
lay  near  a  large  circular  depression  in  the  sand  about 
two  feet  deep.  I  commenced  scratching  with  my 
fingers  at  one  side,  and  had  only  gone  a  few  inches 
down,  when  I  came  upon  a  quantity  of  human 
remains. 

The  sight  struck  terror  to  my  heart,  and  filled  me 
with  the  most  dismal  forebodings.  "  My  own  bones," 
I  thought,  ''will  soon  be  added  to  the  pile."  So  great 
was  my  agony  of  mind  that  I  had  to  leave  the  spot, 
and  interest  myself  in  other  things ;  but  some  time 
afterwards,  when  I  had  got  over  my  nervousness,  I 
renewed  my  digging  operations,  and  in  an  hour  or  so 
had  unearthed  no  fewer  than  sixteen  complete  skeletons 
— fourteen  adults,  and  two  younger  people,  possibly 
women  !  They  lay  alongside  one  another,  covered  by 
sand  that  had  seen  blown  over  them  by  the  wind. 


CHAPTER  III 

On  the  wreck — Efforts  to  kindle  a  fire — My  flagstaff — Clothing  impos- 
sible— Growing  corn  in  turtles'  blood — My  house  of  pearl  shells — 
How  the  pelicans  fished  for  me — Stung  by  a  "sting-rae" — My 
amusements — A  peculiar  clock — Threatened  madness  —I  begin  to 
build  a  boat — An  appalling  blunder — Riding  on  turtles — Preach- 
ing to  Bruno— Canine  sympathy— A  sail — How  I  got  fresh  water 
— Sending  messages  by  the  pelicans — A  wonderful  almanac — A 
mysterious  voice  of  hope — Human  beings  at  last. 

THAT  morning  I  made  my  breakfast  off  raw  sea- 
gulls' eggs,  but  was  unable  to  get  anything  to 
drink.  Between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  as  the  tide  was 
then  very  low,  I  was  delighted  to  find  that  it  was 
possible  to  reach  the  wreck  by  walking  along  the  rocks. 
So,  scrambling  aboard,  I  collected  as  many  things  as  I 
could  possibly  transfer  ashore.  I  had  to  take  dangerous 
headers  into  the  cabin,  as  the  whole  ship's  interior 
was  now  full  of  water,  but  all  I  could  manage  to  secure 
were  a  tomahawk  and  my  bow  and  arrows,  which  had 
been  given  me  by  the  Papuans.  I  had  always  taken  a 
keen  interest  in  archery,  by  the  way,  and  had  made 
quite  a  name  for  myself  in  this  direction  long  before  I 
left  Switzerland.  I  also  took  out  a  cooking-kettle. 
All  these  seemingly  unimportant  finds  were  of  vital 
importance  in  the  most  literal  sense  of  the  phrase, 
particularly  the  tomahawk  and  the  bow,  which  were  in 

after  years  my  very  salvation  time  after  time. 

48 


DE   ROUGEMONT'S   ADVENTURES        49 

I  was  very  delighted  when  I  secured  my  bow  and 
arrows,  for  I  knew  that  with  them  I  could  always  be 
certain  of  killing  sea-fowl  for  food.  There  was  a  stock 
of  gunpowder  on  board  and  a  number  of  rifles  and 
shot-guns,  but  as  the  former  was  hopelessly  spoiled,  I 
did  not  trouble  about  either.  With  my  tomahawk  I 
cut  away  some  of  the  ship's  woodwork,  which  I  threw 
overboard  and  let  drift  to  land  to  serve  as  fuel.  When 
I  did  eventually  return  to  my  little  island,  I  unravelled 
a  piece  of  rope,  and  then  tried  to  produce  fire  by 
rubbing  two  pieces  of  wood  smartly  together  amidst 
the  inflammable  material.  It  was  a  hopeless  business, 
however;  a  full  half-hour's  friction  only  made  the 
sticks  hot,  and  rub  as  hard  as  I  would  I  could  not 
produce  the  faintest  suspicion  of  a  spark.  I  sat  down 
helplessly,  and  wondered  how  the  savages  I  had  read 
of  ever  got  fire  in  this  way. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  not  built  myself  a  shelter  of 
any  kind.  At  night  I  simply  slept  in  the  open  air 
on  the  sand,  with  only  my  blankets  round  me.  One 
morning  I  was  able  to  get  out  of  the  vessel  some 
kegs  of  precious  water,  a  small  barrel  of  flour,  and  a 
quantity  of  tinned  foods.  All  these,  together  with 
some  sails,  spars,  and  ropes,  I  got  safely  ashore,  and  in 
the  afternoon  I  rigged  myself  up  a  sort  of  canvas  awn- 
ing as  a  sleeping-place,  using  only  some  sails  and  spars. 

Among  the  things  I  brought  from  the  ship  on  a 
subsequent  visit  were  a  stiletto  that  had  originally  been 
given  to  me  by  my  mother.  It  was  an  old  family  relic 
with  a  black  ebony  handle  and  a  finely  tempered  steel 
blade  four  or  five  inches  in  length.  I  also  got  a  stone 
tomahawk — a  mere  curio,  obtained  from  the  Papuans; 
and  a  quantity  of  a  special  kind  of  wood,  also  taken  on 

D 


50   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

board  at  New  Guinea.  This  wood  possessed  the 
peculiar  property  of  smouldering  for  hours  when  once 
ignited,  without  actually  bursting  into  flame.  We  took 
it  on  board  because  it  made  such  good  fuel. 

As  the  most  urgent  matter  was  to  kindle  a  fire,  I 
began  experiments  with  my  two  weapons,  striking  the 
steel  tomahawk  against  the  stone  one  over  a  heap  of 
fluffy  material  made  by  unravelling  and  teasing  out  a 
piece  of  blanket.  Success  attended  my  patient  efforts 
this  time,  and  to  my  inexpressible  relief  and  joy  I  soon 
had  a  cheerful  fire  blazing  alongside  my  improvised 
shelter — and,  what  is  more,  I  took  good  care  never  to  let 
it  go  out  during  the  whole  time  I  remained  a  prisoner 
on  the  island.  The  fire  was  always  my  first  thought, 
and  night  and  day  it  was  kept  at  least  smouldering 
by  means  of  the  New  Guinea  wood  I  have  already 
mentioned,  and  of  which  I  found  a  large  stock  on 
board.  The  ship  itself,  I  should  mention,  provided  me 
with  all  the  fuel  that  was  required  in  the  ordinary 
way,  and,  moreover,  I  was  constantly  finding  pieces  of 
wreckage  along  the  shore  that  had  been  gathered  in 
by  the  restless  waves.  Often — oh  !  often — I  reflected 
with  a  shudder  what  my  fate  would  have  been  had  the 
ship  gone  down  in  deep  water,  leaving  me  safe,  but 
deprived  of  all  the  stores  she  contained.  The  long, 
lingering  agony,  the  starvation,  the  madness  of  thirst, 
and  finally  a  horrible  death  on  that  far-away  strip  of 
sand,  and  another  skeleton  added  to  that  grisly  pile ! 

The  days  passed  slowly  by.  In  what  part  of  the 
world  I  was  located  I  had  not  the  remotest  idea.  I 
felt  that  I  was  altogether  out  of  the  beaten  track  of 
ships  because  of  the  reefs  that  studded  these  seas,  and 
therefore  the  prospect  of  my  being  rescued  was  very 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  51 

remote  indeed — a  thought  that  often  caused  me  a  kind 
of  dull  agony,  more  terrible  than  any  mere  physical 
pain. 

However,  I  fixed  up  a  flagstaff  on  the  highest  point 
of  the  island — (poor  "island," — that  was  not  many 
inches) — and  floated  an  ensign  upside  down  from  it, 
in  the  hope  that  this  signal  of  distress  might  be 
sighted  by  some  stray  vessel,  and  indicate  the  presence 
of  a  castaway  to  those  on  board.  Every  morning  I 
made  my  way  to  the  flagstaff,  and  scanned  the  horizon 
for  a  possible  sail,  but  I  always  had  to  come  away 
disappointed.  This  became  a  habit ;  yet,  so  eternal 
is  hope,  that  day  by  day,  week  by  week,  and  month 
by  month  the  bitter  disappointment  was  always  a 
keen  torture.  By  the  way,  the  very  reefs  that  made 
those  seas  so  dangerous  served  completely  to  protect 
my  little  island  in  stormy  weather.  The  fury  of  the 
billows  lost  itself  upon  them,  so  that  even  the  surf  very 
rarely  reached  me.  I  was  usually  astir  about  sunrise. 
I  knew  that  the  sun  rose  about  6  A.M.  in  those  tropical 
seas  and  set  at  6  P.M. ;  there  was  very  little  variation 
all  the  year  round.  A  heavy  dew. descended  at  night, 
which  made  the  air  delightfully  cool ;  but  in  the  day  it 
was  so  frightfully  hot  that  I  could  not  bear  the  weight 
of  ordinary  clothes  upon  my  person,  so  I  took  to 
wearing  a  silk  shawl  instead,  hung  loosely  round  my 
waist. 

Another  reason  why  I  abandoned  clothes  was  because 
I  found  that  when  a  rent  appeared  the  sun  blazed  down 
through  it  and  raised  a  painful  blister.  On  the  other 
hand,  by  merely  wearing  a  waist-cloth,  and  taking 
constant  sea  baths,  I  suffered  scarcely  at  all  from  the 
scorching  tropical  sun.     I  now  devoted  all  my  energies 


52   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

to  the  wreck  of  the  Veiellandy  lest  anything  should 
happen  to  it,  and  worked  with  feverish  energy  to  get 
everything  I  possibly  could  out  of  the  ship.  It  took  me 
some  months  to  accomplish  this,  but  eventually  I  had 
removed  evrey thing — even  the  greater  part  of  the  cargo 
of  pearl  shells.  The  work  ,was  rendered  particularly 
arduous  in  consequence  of  the  decks  being  so  fre- 
quently under  water;  and  I  found  it  was  only  at  the 
full  and  new  moons  that  I  could  actually  walk  round 
on  the  rocks  to  the  wreck.  In  course  of  time  the 
ship  began  to  break  up,  and  I  materially  assisted  the 
operation  with  an  axe.  I  wanted  her  timbers  to  build 
a  boat  in  which  to  escape. 

The  casks  of  flour  I  floated  ashore  were  very  little 
the  worse  for  their  immersion ;  in  fact,  the  water  had 
only  soaked  through  to  the  depth  of  a  couple  of  inches, 
forming  a  kind  of  protecting  wet  crust,  and  leaving 
the  inner  part  perfectly  dry  and  good.  Much  of  this 
flour,  however,  was  afterwards  spoiled  by  w^eevils ;  nor 
did  my  spreading  out  the  precious  grain  in  the  sun- 
light on  tarpaulins  and  sails  save  it  from  at  least  partial 
destruction.  I  also  brought  ashore  bags  of  beans, 
rice,  and  maize;  cases  of  preserved  milk  and  vege- 
tables, and  innumerable  other  articles  of  food,  besides 
some  small  casks  of  oil  and  rum.  In  fact,  I  stripped 
the  ship's  interior  of  everything,  and  at  the  end  of 
nine  months  very  little  remained  of  her  on  the  rocks 
but  the  bare  skeleton  of  the  hull.  I  moved  all  the 
things  out  day  by  day  according  to  the  tides. 

In  a  large  chest  that  came  ashore  from  the  captain's 
cabin  I  found  a  stock  of  all  kinds  of  seeds,  and  I 
resolved  to  see  whether  I  could  grow  a  little  corn. 
Jensen  himself  had  put  the  seeds  aboard  in  order  to 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  53 

plant  them  on  some  of  the  islands  near  which  we  might 
be  compelled  to  anchor  for  some  length  of  time. 
Another  object  was  to  grow  plants  on  board  for  the 
amusement  of  the  Malays.  The  seeds  included 
vegetables,  flowers,  and  Indian  corn,  the  last  named 
being  in  the  cob.  The  Malays  are  very  fond  of 
flowers,  and  the  captain  told  them  that  they  might 
try  and  cultivate  some  in  boxes  on  board ;  but  when 
he  saw  that  this  would  mean  an  additional  drain 
upon  his  supply  of  fresh  water  he  withdrew  the  per- 
mission. I  knew  that  salt  water  would  not  nourish 
plants,  and  I  was  equally  certain  I  could  not  spare 
fresh  water  from  my  own  stock  for  this  purpose. 

Nevertheless,  I  set  my  wits  to  work,  and  at  length 
decided  upon  an  interesting  experiment.  I  filled  a 
large  turtle  shell  with  sand  and  a  little  clay,  and 
thoroughly  wetted  the  mixture  with  turtle's  blood, 
then  stirring  the  mass  into  a  puddle  and  planting 
corn  in  it. 

The  grain  quickly  sprouted,  and  flourished  so  rapidly, 
that  within  a  very  short  time  I  was  able  to  transplant 
it — always,  however,  nourishing  it  with  the  blood  of 
turtles.  This  most  satisfactory  result  induced  me  to 
extend  my  operation,  and  I  soon  had  quaint  httle 
crops  of  maize  and  wheat  growing  in  huge  turtle 
shells ;  the  wheat -plants,  however,  did  not  reach 
maturity. 

For  a  long  time  I .  was  content  with  the  simple 
awning  I  have  described  as  a  place  of  shelter,  but 
when  I  began  to  recover  the  pearl  shells  from  the 
ship,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  use  them  as 
material  with  which  to  build  some  kind  of  a  hut. 
Altogether  there  were  about  thirty  tons  of  pearl  shells 


54   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

on  board,  and  at  first  I  took  to  diving  for  them  merely 
as  a  sort  of  pastime. 

I  spent  many  weeks  getting  enough  shells  ashore 
to  build  a  couple  of  parallel  walls,  each  about  seven 
feet  high,  three  feet  thick,  and  ten  feet  in  length. 
The  breeze   blew   gratefully  through    them.     I   filled 


BUILDING    MY   HOUSE 


the  interstices  of  these  walls  with  a  puddle  of  clayey 
sand  and  water,  covered  in  the  top  with  canvas,  and 
made  quite  a  comfortable  living-place  out  of  it.  The 
walls  at  any  rate  had  a  high  commercial  value !  When 
the  wet  season  set  in  I  built  a  third  wall  at  one  end, 
and  erected  a  sort  of  double  awning  in  front,  under 
which  I  always  kept  my  fire  burning.     I  also  put  a 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  55 

straw  thatch  over  the  hut,  proudly  using  my  own  straw 
which  I  had  grown  with  blood. 

In  course  of  time  I  made  myself  crude  articles  of 
furniture,  including  a  table,  some  chairs,  a  bed,  &c.  My 
bedding  at  first  consisted  of  sails,  but  afterwards  I  was 
able  to  have  a  mattress  filled  with  straw  from  my  corn 
patch.  The  kettle  I  had  saved  from  the  wreck  was  for 
a  long  time  my  only  cooking  utensil,  so  when  I  had  any- 
thing to  prepare  I  generally  made  an  oven  in  the  sand, 
after  the  manner  of  the  natives  I  had  met  on  the  New 
Guinea  main.  I  could  always  catch  plenty  of  fish — 
principally  mullet ;  and  as  for  sea- fowls,  all  that  I  had 
to  do  was  walk  over  to  that  part  of  the  island  where 
they  were  feeding  and  breeding,  and  knock  them  over 
with  a  stick.  I  made  dough-cakes  from  the  flour 
whilst  it  lasted ;  and  I  had  deputies  to  fish  for  me — 
I  mean  the  hundreds  of  pelicans.  The  birds  who  had 
little  ones  to  feed  went  out  in  the  morning,  and  re- 
turned in  the  afternoon,  with  from  three  to  ten  pounds 
of  delicious  fresh  fish  in  their  curious  pouches. 

On  alighting  on  the  island  they  emptied  their 
pouches  on  the  sand — too  often,  I  must  confess,  solely 
for  my  benefit.  Selfish  bachelor  birds  on  returning 
with  full  pouches  jerked  their  catch  into  the  air,  and 
so  swallowed  it.  It  used  to  amuse  me,  however,  to 
watch  a  robber  gull,  perched  on  their  back,  cleverly 
and  neatly  intercepting  the  fish  as  it  ascended.  These 
fish,  with  broiled  turtle  meat  and  tinned  fruits,  made 
quite  a  sumptuous  repast. 

After  breakfast  I  would  have  a  swim  when  the  tide 
was  low  and  there  was  no  likelihood  of  sharks  being 
about.  A  run  along  the  beach  in  the  sun  until  I  was 
dry  followed,  and  then  I  returned  to  my  awning  and 


56   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

read  aloud  to  myself  in  English,  from  my  medical 
books  and  my  English-French  Testament,  simply  for 
the  pleasure  of  hearing  my  own  voice.  I  was  a  very 
good  linguist  in  those  days,  and  spoke  English  particu- 
larly well  long  before  I  left  Switzerland.  After  break- 
fast, my  dog  and  I  would  go  out  to  catch  a  peculiar 
sort  of  fish  called  the  '*  sting-rae."  These  curious 
creatures  have  a  sharp  bony  spike  about  two  inches 
in  length  near  the  tail,  and  this  I  found  admirably 
adapted  for  arrow-heads.  The  body  of  the  fish  re- 
sembled a  huge  flounder,  but  the  tail  was  long  and 
tapering.  They  would  come  close  in-shore,  and  I 
would  spear  them  from  the  rocks  with  a  Papuan  fish- 
ing-spear. The  smallest  I  ever  caught  weighed  fifteen 
pounds,  and  I  could  never  carry  home  more  than  a  couple 
of  average  weight.  They  have  the  power  of  stinging, 
I  believe,  electrically,  hence  their  name.  At  all  events, 
I  was  once  stung  by  one  of  these  fish,  and  it  was 
an  experience  I  shall  never  forget.  It  fortunately 
happened  at  a  time  when  some  friendly  blacks  were  at 
hand,  otherwise  I  question  very  much  whether  I 
should  be  alive  to-day. 

I  was  wading  slowly  along  the  beach  in  rather  deep 
water,  when  I  suddenly  felt  a  most  excruciating  pain 
in  my  left  ankle.  It  seemed  as  though  I  had  just 
received  a  paralysing  shock  from  a  powerful  battery, 
and  down  I  fell  in  a  state  of  absolute  collapse,  un- 
able to  stir  a  finger  to  save  myself,  although  I  knew 
I  was  rapidly  drowning.  Fortunately  the  blacks  who 
were  with  me  came  and  pulled  me  ashore,  where  I 
slowly  recovered.  There  was  only  a  slight  scratch 
on  my  ankle,  but  for  a  long  time  my  whole  body  was 
racked  with  pain,  and  when  the  natives  got  to  know 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  57 

of  the  symptoms  they  told  me  that  I  had  been  attacked 
by  a  *'  sting-rae."  The  spike  or  sting  measures  from 
two  to  six  inches  in  length  according  to  the  size  of  the 
fish. 

But  to  return  to  my  solitary  life  on  the  island. 
The  flesh  of  the  sting-rae  was  not  pleasant  to  eat, 
being  rather  tough  and  tasteless,  so  I  used  it  as  a 
bait  for  sharks.  Turtles  visited  the  island  in  great 
numbers,  and  deposited  their  eggs  in  holes  made  in 
the  sand  above  high-water  mark.  They  only  came 
on  land  during  the  night,  at  high  tide ;  and  whenever 
I  wanted  a  special  delicacy,  I  turned  one  over  on  its 
back  till  morning,  when  I  despatched  it  leisurely  with 
my  tomahawk.  The  creatures'  shells  I  always  devoted 
to  the  extension  of  my  garden,  which  became  very 
large,  and  eventually  covered  fully  two-thirds  of  the 
island.  The  maize  and  cob-corn  flourished  remark- 
ably well,  and  I  generally  managed  to  get  three 
crops  in  the  course  of  a  year.  The  straw  came  in 
useful  for  bedding  purposes,  but  as  I  found  the 
sand-flies  and  other  insects  becoming  more  and  more 
troublesome  whilst  I  lay  on  the  ground,  I  decided  to 
try  a  hammock.  I  made  one  out  of  shark's  hide, 
and  slung  it  in  my  hut,  when  I  found  that  it  answered 
my  purpose  splendidly. 

The  great  thing  was  to  ward  off"  the  dull  agony,  the 
killing  depression,  and  manias  generally.  Fortunately 
I  was  of  a  very  active  disposition,  and  as  a  pastime  I 
took  to  gymnastics,  even  as  I  had  at  Montreux.  I 
became  a  most  proficient  tumbler  and  acrobat,  and 
could  turn  two  or  three  somersaults  on  dashing  down 
from  the  sloping  roof  of  my  pearl-shell  hut ;  besides, 
I  became  a  splendid  high  jumper,  with  and  without 


58   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

the  pole.  Another  thing  I  interested  myself  in  was 
the  construction  of  a  sun-dial. 

Indeed,  I  spent  many  hours  devising  some  means 
whereby  I  could  fashion  a  reliable  **  clock,"  and  at  last 
I  worked  out  the  principle  of  the  sun-dial  on  the  sand. 
I  fixed  a  long  stick  perfectly  upright  in  the  ground, 
and  then  marked  off  certain  spaces  round  it  by  means 
of  pegs  and  pearl  shells.  I  calculated  the  hours 
according  to  the  length  of  the  shadows  cast  by  the 
sun. 

But,  in  spite  of  all  that  I  could  do  to  interest  or 
amuse  myself,  I  was  frequently  overwhelmed  with  fits 
of  depression  and  despair,  and  more  than  once  I  feared 
I  should  lose  my  mental  balance  and  become  a  maniac. 
A  religious  craze  took  possession  of  me,  and,  strive  as 
I  might,  I  could  not  keep  my  mind  from  dwelling  upon 
certain  apparent  discrepancies  in  the  various  apostles' 
versions  of  the  Gospel ! 

I  found  myself  constantly  brooding  over  statements 
made  in  one  form  by  St.  Matthew,  and  in  another  by 
St.  Luke;  and  I  conjured  up  endless  theological 
arguments  and  theories,  until  I  was  driven  nearly 
frantic.  Much  as  I  regretted  it,  I  was  compelled  at 
last  to  give  up  reading  my  New  Testament,  and  by 
the  exercise  of  a  strong  will  I  forced  myself  to  think 
about  something  totally  different. 

It  took  me  a  long  time  to  overcome  this  religious 
melancholia,  but  I  mastered  it  in  the  long  run,  and 
was  greatly  delighted  when  I  found  I  could  once  more 
read  without  being  hypercritical  and  doubtful  of  ever}-- 
thing.  Had  I  been  cast  on  a  luxuriant  island,  growing 
fruits  and  flowers,  and  inhabited  at  least  by  animals 
— how  different  would  it  have  been !     But  here  there 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  59 

was  nothing  to  save  the  mind  from  madness — merely  a 
tiny  strip  of  sand,  invisible  a  few  hundred  yards  out 
at  sea. 

When  the  fits  of  depression  came  upon  me  I  in- 
variably concluded  that  life  was  unbearable,  and  would 
actually  rush  into  the  sea,  with  the  deliberate  object  of 
putting  an  end  to  myself.  At  these  times  my  agony  of 
mind  was  far  more  dreadful  that  any  degree  of  physical 
suffering  could  have  been,  and  death  seemed  to  have  a 
fascination  for  me  that  I  could  not  resist.  Yet  when 
I  found  myself  up  to  my  neck  in  water,  a  sudden 
revulsion  of  feeling  would  come  over  me,  and  instead 
of  drowning  myself  I  would  indulge  in  a  swim  or  a 
ride  on  a  turtle's  back  by  way  of  diverting  my  thoughts 
into  different  channels. 

Bruno  always  seemed  to  understand  when  I  had  an 
attack  of  melancholia,  and  he  would  watch  my  every 
movement.  When  he  saw  me  rushing  into  the  water, 
he  would  follow  at  my  side  barking  and  yelling  like 
a  mad  thing,  until  he  actually  made  me  forget  the 
dreadful  object  I  had  in  view.  And  we  would  perhaps 
conclude  by  having  a  swimming  race.  These  fits  of 
depression  always  came  upon  me  towards  evening,  and 
generally  about  the  same  hour. 

In  spite  of  the  apparent  hopelessness  of  my  position, 
I  never  relinquished  the  idea  of  escaping  from  the 
island  some  day,  and  accordingly  I  started  building  a 
boat  within  a  month  of  my  shipwreck. 

Not  that  I  knew  anything  whatever  about  boat- 
building; but  I  was  convinced  that  I  could  at  least 
make  a  craft  of  some  sort  that  would  float.  I  set  to 
work  with  a  light  heart,  but  later  on  paid  dearly  for  my 
ignorance  in  bitter,  bitter  disappointment  and  impotent 


6o   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

regrets.  For  one  thing,  I  made  the  keel  too  heavy; 
then,  again,  I  used  planks  that  were  absurdly  thick  for 
the  shell,  though,  of  course,  I  was  not  aware  of  these 
things  at  the  time.  The  wreck,  of  course,  provided 
me  with  all  the  woodwork  I  required.  In  order  to 
make  the  staves  pliable,  I  soaked  them  in  water  for  a 
week,  and  then  heated  them  over  a  fire,  afterwards 
bending  them  to  the  required  shape.  At  the  end  of 
nine  months  of  unremitting  labour,  to  which,  latterly, 
considerable  anxiety — glorious  hopes  and  sickening 
fears — was  added,  I  had  built  what  I  considered  a 
substantial  and  sea-worthy  sailing  boat,  fully  fifteen 
feet  long  by  four  feet  wide.  It  was  a  heavy  ungainly 
looking  object  when  finished,  and  it  required  much 
ingenuity  on  my  part  to  launch  it.  This  I  eventually 
managed,  however,  by  means  of  rollers  and  levers; 
but  the  boat  was  frightfully  low  in  the  water  at  the 
stern.  It  was  quite  watertight  though,  having  an 
outer  covering  of  sharks'  green  hide,  well  smeared  with 
Stockholm  tar,  and  an  inside  lining  of  stout  canvas. 
I  also  rigged  up  a  mast,  and  made  a  sail.  When  my 
boat  floated  I  fairly  screamed  aloud  with  wild  delight, 
and  sympathetic  Bruno  jumped  and  yelped  in  unison. 

But  when  all  my  preparations  were  complete,  and  I 
had  rowed  out  a  little  way,  I  made  a  discovery  that 
nearly  drove  me  crazy.  I  found  I  had  launched  the 
boat  in  a  sort  of  lagoon  several  miles  in  extent,  barred 
by  a  crescent  of  coral  rocks,  over  which  /  could  not 
possibly  drag  my  craft  into  the  open  sea.  Although 
the  water  covered  the  reefs  at  high  tide  it  was  never 
of  sufficient  depth  to  allow  me  to  sail  the  boat  over 
them.  I  tried  every  possible  opening,  but  was  always 
arrested  at  some  point  or  other.     After  the  first  acute 


AS  TOLD    BY   HIMSELF 


paroxysm  of  despair  —  beating  my  head  with  my 
clenched  fists — I  consoled  myself  with  the  thought  that 
when  the  high  tides  came,  they  would  perhaps  lift  the 
boat  over  that  terrible  barrier.  I  waited,  and  waited, 
.^  and    waited,   but    alas !    only    to    be    disap- 

^^^     pointed.     My  nine  weary  months  of  arduous 


WILD   DELIGHT 


travail  and  half-frantic  anticipation  were  cruelly  wasted. 
At  no  time  could  I  get  the  boat  out  into  the  open  sea 
in  consequence  of  the  rocks,  and  it  was  equally  impos- 
sible for  me  unaided  to  drag  her  back  up  the  steep 
slope  again  and  across  the  island,  where  she  could  be 
launched  opposite  an  opening  in  the  encircling  reefs. 


62    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

So  there  my  darling  boat  lay  idly  in  the  lagoon — a 
useless  thing,  whose  sight  filled  me  with  heartache 
and  despair.  And  yet,  in  this  very  lagoon  I  soon 
found  amusement  and  pleasure.  When  I  had  in  some 
measure  got  over  the  disappointment  about  the  boat, 
I  took  to  sailing  her  about  in  the  lagoon.  I  also 
played  the  part  of  Neptune  in  the  very  extraordinary 
way  I  have  already  indicated.  I  used  to  wade  out 
to  where  the  turtles  were,  and  on  catching  a  big  six- 
hundred-pounder,  I  would  calmly  sit  astride  on  his 
back. 

Away  would  swim  the  startled  creature,  mostly  a 
foot  or  so  below  the  surface.  When  he  dived  deeper 
I  simply  sat  far  back  on  the  shell,  and  then  he  was 
forced  to  come  up.  I  steered  my  queer  steeds  in  a 
curious  way.  When  I  wanted  my  turtle  to  turn  to 
the  left,  I  simply  thrust  my  foot  into  his  right  eye,  and 
vice  versa  for  the  contrary  direction.  My  two  big  toes 
placed  simultaneously  over  both  his  optics  caused  a  halt 
so  abrupt  as  almost  to  unseat  me.  Sometimes  I  would 
go  fully  a  mile  out  to  sea  on  one  of  these  strange  steeds. 
It  always  frightened  them  to  have  me  astride,  and  in 
their  terror  they  swam  at  a  tremendous  pace  until  com- 
pelled to  desist  through  sheer  exhaustion. 

Before  the  wet  season  commenced  I  put  a  straw 
thatch  on  the  roof  of  my  hut,  as  before  stated,  and 
made  my  quarters  as  snug  as  possible.  And  it  was 
a  very  necessary  precaution,  too,  for  sometimes  it 
rained  for  days  at  a  stretch.  The  rain  never  kept  me 
indoors,  however,  and  I  took  exercise  just  the  same,  as 
I  didn't  bother  about  clothes,  and  rather  enjoyed  the 
shower  bath.  I  was  always  devising  means  of  making 
life  more  tolerable,  and  amongst  other  things  I  made 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF 


63 


a  sort  of  swing,  which  I  found  extremely  useful  in 
beguiling  time.  I  would  also  practise  jumping  with 
long  poles.  One  day  I  captured  a  young  pelican,  and 
trained  him  to  accompany  me  in  my  walks  and  assist 
me  in  my  fishing  operations.  He  also  acted  as  a 
decoy.  Frequently  I  would  hide  myself  in  some  grass, 
whilst  my  pet  bird  walked  a  few  yards  away  to  attract 


RIDING   ON   A   TURTLE 


his  fellows.  Presently  he  would  be  joined  by  a  whole 
flock,  many  of  which  I  lassoed,  or  shot  with  my  bow 
and  arrows. 

But  for  my  dog — my  almost  human  Bruno — I  think 
I  must  have  died.  I  used  to  talk  to  him  precisely  as 
though  he  were  a  human  being.  We  were  absolutely 
inseparable.      I  preached  long  sermons  to  him  from 


64   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Gospel  texts.  I  told  him  in  a  loud  voice  all  about  my 
early  life  and  school-days  at  Montreux;  I  recounted 
to  him  all  my  adventures,  from  the  fatal  meeting  with 
poor  Peter  Jensen  in  Singapore,  right  up  to  the  present ; 
I  sang  little  chansons  to  him,  and  among  these  he 
had  his  favourites  as  well  as  those  he  disliked  cordially. 
If  he  did  not  care  for  a  song,  he  would  set  up  a  pitiful 
howl.  I  feel  convinced  that  this  constant  communing 
aloud  with  my  dog  saved  my  reason.  Bruno  seemed 
always  to  be  in  such  good  spirits  that  I  never  dreamed 
of  anything  happening  to  him ;  and  his  quiet,  sym- 
pathetic companionship  was  one  of  the  greatest  bless- 
ings I  knew  throughout  many  weird  and  terrible  years. 
As  I  talked  to  him  he  would  sit  at  my  feet,  looking 
so  intelligently  at  me  that  1  fancied  he  understood 
every  word  of  what  I  was  saying. 

When  the  religious  mania  was  upon  me,  I  talked 
over  all  sorts  of  theological  subjects  with  my  Bruno, 
and  it  seemed  to  relieve  me,  even  though  I  never  re- 
ceived any  enlightenment  from  him  upon  the  knotty 
point  that  would  be  puzzling  me  at  that  particular 
time.  What  delighted  him  most  of  all  was  for  me  to 
tell  him  that  I  loved  him  very  dearly,  and  that  he 
was  even  more  valuable  to  me  than  the  famous  dogs 
of  St.  Bernard  were  to  benighted  travellers  in  the 
snow. 

I  knew  very  little  about  musical  instruments,  but  as 
I  had  often  longed  for  something  to  make  a  noise  with, 
if  only  to  drown  the  maddening  crash  of  the  eternal  surf, 
I  fashioned  a  drum  out  of  a  small  barrel,  with  sharks' 
skin  stretched  tightly  over  the  open  ends.  This  I  beat 
with  a  couple  of  sticks  as  an  accompaniment  to  my 
singing,  and  as  Bruno  occasionally  joined  in  with  a 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  65 

howl  of  disapproval  or  a  yell  of  joy,  the  effect  must 
have  been  picturesque  if  not  musical.  I  was  ready  to 
do  almost  anything  to  drown  that  ceaseless  cr-ash, 
cr-ash  of  the  breakers  on  the  beach,  from  whose 
melancholy  and  monotonous  roar  I  could  never  escape 
for  a  single  moment  throughout  the  whole  of  the  long 
day.  However,  I  escaped  its  sound  when  I  lay  down 
to  sleep  at  night  by  a  very  simple  plan.  As  I  was 
stone-deaf  in  the  right  ear  I  always  slept  on  the  left 
side. 

Seven  weary  months  had  passed  away,  when  one 
morning,  on  scanning  the  horizon,  I  suddenly  leaped 
into  the  air  and  screamed  :  "  My  God  !  A  sail !  A  sail ! " 
I  nearly  became  delirious  with  excitement,  but,  alas ! 
the  ship  was  too  far  out  to  sea  to  notice  my  frantic 
signals.  My  island  lay  very  low,  and  all  that  I  could 
make  out  of  the  vessel  in  the  distance  was  her  sails. 
She  must  have  been  fully  five  miles  away,  yet,  in  my 
excitement,  I  ran  up  and  down  the  miserable  beach, 
shouting  in  a  frenzy  and  waving  my  arms  in  the  hope 
of  attracting  the  attention  of  some  one  on  board ;  but 
it  was  all  in  vain.  The  ship,  which  I  concluded  was 
a  pearler,  kept  steadily  on  her  way,  and  eventually 
disappeared  below  the  horizon. 

Never  can  I  hope  to  describe  the  gnawing  pain  at 
my  heart  as,  hoarse  and  half  mad,  I  sank  exhausted 
on  the  sand,  watching  the  last  vestige  of  the  ship 
disappearing.  Altogether,  I  saw  five  ships  pass  in 
this  way  during  my  sojourn  on  the  island,  but  they 
were  always  too  far  out  at  sea  to  notice  my  signals. 
One  of  these  vessels  I  knew  to  be  a  man-o'-war  flying 
the  Britisli  ensign.  I  tried  to  rig  up  a  longer  flag- 
staff, as  I  thought  the  original  one  not  high  enough 

E 


66    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

for  its  purpose.  Accordingly  I  spliced  a  couple  of 
long  poles  together,  but  to  my  disappointment  found 
them  too  heavy  to  raise  in  the  air.  Bruno  always 
joined  in  my  enthusiasm  when  a  sail  was  in  sight ; 
in  fact,  he  was  generally  the  first  to  detect  it,  and 
he  would  bark  and  drag  at  me  until  he  had  drawn 
my  attention  to  the  new  hope.  And  I  loved  him 
for  his  tender  sympathy  in  my  paroxysms  of  regret 
and  disappointment.  The  hairy  head  would  rub 
coaxingly  against  my  arm,  the  warm  tongue  licking 
my  hand,  and  the  faithful  brown  eyes  gazing  at 
me  with  a  knowledge  and  sympathy  that  were 
more  than  human  —  these  I  feel  sure  saved  me 
again  and  again.  I  might  mention  that,  although 
my  boat  was  absolutely  useless  for  the  purpose  of 
escape,  I  did  not  neglect  her  altogether,  but  sailed 
her  about  the  enclosed  lagoon  by  way  of  practice  in 
the  handling  of  her  sails.  This  was  also  a  welcome 
recreation. 

I  never  feared  a  lack  of  fresh  water,  for  when,  in 
the  dry  season,  the  ship's  stock  and  my  reserve  from 
the  wet  season  were  exhausted,  I  busied  myself  with 
the  condensing  of  sea  water  in  my  kettle,  adding  to 
my  store  literally  drop  by  drop.  Water  was  the  only 
liquid  I  drank,  all  the  tea  and  coffee  carried  on  board 
having  been  rendered  utterly  useless. 

The  powerful  winged  birds  that  abounded  on  the 
island  one  day  gave  me  an  idea :  Why  not  hang  a 
message  around  their  necks  and  send  them  forth  into 
the  unknown  ?  Possibly  they  might  bring  help — who 
knows  ?  And  with  me  to  conceive  was  to  act.  I 
got  a  number  of  empty  condensed-milk  tins,  and,  by 
means  of  fire,  separated  from  the  cylinder  the  tin  disc 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  6y 

that  formed  the  bottom.  On  this  disc  I  scratched  a 
message  with  a  sharp  nail.  In  a  few  words  I  conveyed 
information  about  the  wreck  and  my  deplorable  con- 
dition. I  also  gave  the  approximate  bearings — latitude 
fifteen  to  thirteen  degrees,  not  far  from  the  Australian 
main. 

These  discs — I  prepared  several  in  English,  French, 
bad  Dutch,  German,  and  Italian — I  then  fastened  round 
the  necks  of  the  pelicans,  by  means  of  fish-gut,  and 
away  across  the  ocean  sped  the  affrighted  birds,  so 
scared  by  the  mysterious  encumbrance  that  tJiey  never 
returned  to  the  island. 

I  may  say  here  that  more  than  twenty  years  later, 
when  I  returned  to  civilisation,  I  chanced  to  mention 
the  story  about  my  messenger-birds  to  some  old 
inhabitants  at  Fremantle,  Western  Australia,  when, 
to  my  amazement,  they  told  me  that  a  pelican  carry- 
ing a  tin  disc  round  its  neck,  bearing  a  message  in 
French  from  a  castaway,  had  been  found  many 
years  previously  by  an  old  boatman  on  the  beach 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Swan  River.  But  it  was  not 
mine. 

So  appaUing  was  the  monotony,  and  so  limited  my 
resources,  that  I  welcomed  with  childish  glee  any 
trifling  little  incident  that  happened.  For  example, 
one  lovely  night  in  June  I  was  amazed  to  hear  a 
tremendous  commotion  outside,  and  on  getting  up  to 
see  what  was  the  matter,  I  beheld  dimly  countless 
thousands  of  birds — Java  sparrows  I  beheve  them  to 
be.  I  went  back  to  bed  again,  and  in  the  morning 
was  a  little  dismayed  to  find  that  my  pretty  visitors 
had  eaten  up  nearly  all  my  green  corn.  And  the  birds 
were  still  there  when   I   went  forth  in  the  morning. 


68   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

They  made  the  air  ring  with  their  Hvely  chatter,  but 
the  uproar  they  made  was  as  music  to  me.  The 
majority  of  them  had  greyish -yellow  bodies,  with 
yellow  beaks  and  pink  ruffs,  and  they  were  not  at 
all  afraid  of  me.  I  moved  about  freely  among  them, 
and  did  not  attempt  to  drive  them  out  of  my  corn 
patch,  being  only  too  grateful  to  see  so  much  life 
about  me.  They  rose,  however,  in  great  clouds  the 
next  day,  much  to  my  regret,  and  as  they  soared 
heavenwards  -I  could  not  help  envying  them  their 
blessed  freedom. 

I  kept  count  of  the  long  days  by  means  of  pearl 
shells,  for  I  had  not  used  up  the  whole  cargo  in 
the  walls  of  my  hut.  I  put  shells  side  by  side  in 
a  row,  one  for  each  day,  until  the  number  reached 
seven,  and  then  I  transferred  one  shell  to  another 
place,  representing  the  weeks.  Another  pile  of  shells 
represented  the  months ;  and  as  for  the  years,  I 
kept  count  of  those  by  making  notches  on  my 
bow.  My  peculiar  calendar  was  always  checked  by 
the  moon. 

Now,  I  am  not  a  superstitious  man,  so  I  relate 
the  following  extraordinary  occurrence  merely  as  it 
happened,  and  without  advancing  any  theory  of  my 
own  to  account  for  it.  I  had  been  many,  many  months 
— perhaps  more  than  a  year — on  that  terrible  little 
sand-spit,  and  on  the  night  I  am  describing  I  went  to 
bed  as  usual,  feeling  very  despondent.  As  I  lay  asleep 
in  my  hammock,  I  dreamed  a  beautiful  dream.  Some 
spiritual  being  seemed  to  come  and  bend  over  me, 
smiHng  pityingly.  So  extraordinarily  vivid  was  the 
apparition,  that  I  suddenly  woke,  tumbled  out  of  my 
hammock,  and  went  outside  on  a  vague  search.     In  a 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  69 

few  minutes,  however,  I  laughed  at  my  own  folly  and 
turned   in  again. 

I  lay  there  for  some  little  time  longer,  thinking  about 
the  past — for  I  dared  not  dwell  on  the  future — when 
suddenly  the  intense  stillness  of  the  night  was  broken 
by  a  strangely  familiar  voice,  which  said,  distinctly 
and  encouragingl}^,  ^^  Je  sins  avec  toi.  Soit  sans  peur, 
Tu  reviendras."  I  can  never  hope  to  describe  my  feel- 
ings at  that  moment. 

It  was  not  the  voice  of  my  father  nor  of  my  mother, 
yet  it  was  certainly  the  voice  of  some  one  I  knew  and 
loved,  yet  was  unable  to  identify.  The  night  was 
strangely  calm,  and  so  startling  was  this  mysterious 
message  that  instinctively  I  leaped  out  of  my  hammock 
again,  went  outside  and  called  out  several  times,  but, 
of  course,  nothing  happened.  From  that  night,  how- 
ever, I  never  absolutely  despaired,  even  when  things 
looked  their  very  worst. 

Two  interminable  years  had  passed  away,  when 
one  day  the  weather  suddenly  changed,  and  a  terrible 
gale  commenced  to  blow,  which  threatened  almost  to 
wreck  my  little  hut.  One  morning,  a  few  days  later, 
when  the  storm  had  abated  somewhat,  I  heard  Bruno 
barking  wildly  on  the  beach.  A  few  seconds  after- 
wards he  came  rushing  into  the  hut,  and  would  not 
rest  until  I  prepared  to  follow  him  outside.  Before 
doing  so,  however,  I  picked  up  an  oar — I  knew  not 
why.  I  then  followed  my  dog  down  to  the  beach, 
wondering  what  could  possibly  have  caused  him  to 
make  such  a  fuss.  The  sea  was  somewhat  agitated, 
and  as  it  was  not  yet  very  light,  I  could  not  clearly 
distinguish  things  in  the  distance.' 

On  peering  seawards  for  the  third  or  fourth  time, 


70   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

however,  I  fancied  I  could  make  out  a  long,  black 
object,  which  I  concluded  must  be  some  kind  of  a 
boat,  tossing  up  and  down  on  the  billows.  Then  I 
must  confess  I  began  to  share  Bruno's  excitement, — 
particularly  when  a  few  minutes  later  I  discerned  a 
well-made  catamaran,  with  several  human  figures 
lying  prostrate  tipon  it  I 


CHAPTER    IV 

I  try  to  revive  my  visitors — Demonstrations  of  amazement — A  variety 
entertainment — Evil  spirits  in  the  mirror — "  The  star  above  my 
home" — "Preliminary  canter"  with  the  boat — A  joyful  procession 
— '*  Good-bye  to  my  island  home  " — Nearing  the  main — Among 
the  cannibals — Smoke  telegraphy— A  weird  audience — A  nation 
meets  me — My  first  palace. 

MY  state  of  mind  was  perfectly  indescribable.  Here, 
I  thought,  are  some  poor  shipwrecked  creatures 
like  myself;  and  I  prayed  to  God  that  I  might  be  the 
means  of  saving  them.  The  prospect  of  having  at 
length  some  one  to  converse  with  filled  me  with  un- 
utterable joy,  and  I  could  hardly  restrain  myself  from 
rushing  into  the  water  and  swimming  out  to  the  cata- 
maran, which  was  still  several  hundred  yards  away  from 
me.  Would  it  never  draw  near  ?  I  thought,  wild  with 
impatience.  And  then,  to  my  horror,  I  saw  that  it  was 
closely  followed  by  a  number  of  sharks,  which  swam 
round  and  round  it  expectantly.  Seeing  this,  I  could 
contain  myself  no  longer.  Sternly  commanding  my 
dog  not  to  follow  me,  I  waded  into  the  waves  and  then 
swam  boldly  out  to  the  catamaran,  taking  good  care, 
however,  to  make  a  great  noise  as  I  swam,  by  shouting 
and  splashing  in  order  to  frighten  away  the  sharks. 
When  eventually  I  did  come  up  to  the  floating  platform 
of  logs,  I  found  that  there  were  four  blacks  upon  it — a 
man,  a  woman,  and  two  boys.     All  were  lying  quite 


72   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

prostrate  through  exhaustion,  apparently  more  dead 
than  ahve.  The  sharks  still  hung  on  persistently,  but 
at  length  I  drove  them  away  by  beating  the  water  with 
my  oar,  with  which  I  then  proceeded  to  paddle  the 
catamaran  ashore.  You  see,  the  oar  I  grasped  when 
Bruno  came  to  give  the  alarm  proved  of  inestim- 
able value ;  and  so  all  through  my  marvellous  years  of 
sojourn  among  the  cannibals  an  undeniable  Providence 
guided  my  every  action.  But  this  will  be  seen  from  my 
narrative  in  a  hundred  amazing  instances.  I  climbed 
aboard  the  catamaran  and  paddled  it  into  shallow  water ; 
and  then,  jumping  overboard  again  I  pulled  it  right 
up  on  to  the  beach,  and  carried  the  four  blacks  one  by 
one  into  my  hut.  They  were  in  a  most  pitiable  state 
of  collapse.  Their  tongues  were  swollen  and  protrud- 
ing out  of  their  mouths,  and  for  a  long  time  I  could 
get  nothing  down  their  throats.  First  of  all  I  tried  to 
revive  them  with  cold  water,  but  found  they  could  not 
swallow. 

Then  I  remembered  the  rum  I  had  saved  from  the 
wreck  all  this  time,  and  procuring  some  I  rubbed  their 
bodies  with  it,  tied  wet  bandages  round  their  necks, 
and  rolled  them  about  in  wet  sails,  in  the  hope  that 
in  this  way  their  bodies  might  absorb  the  necessary 
liquid.  You  see  I  had  an  idea  that  they  were  dying 
from  want  of  water.  All  four  were  terribly  emaciated, 
and  in  the  last  stages  of  exhaustion.  After  two  or  three 
hours*  treatment,  the  two  boys  recovered  consciousness, 
and  some  little  time  later  the  man  also  showed  signs  of 
reviving,  but  the  woman  did  not  come  to  until  the 
afternoon.  None  of  them,  of  course,  were  able  to 
walk ;  and  in  the  meantime  they  did  nothing  but  drink 
water.     They  seemed  not  to  realise  what  had  happened 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  73 

or  where  they  were  until  the  following  day,  and  then 
their  surprise — mainly  at  the  sight  of  me — was  beyond 
all  description.  Their  first  symptom  was  one  of  ex- 
treme terror,  and  in  spite  of  every  kind  action  I  could 
think  of,  they  held  out  for  a  long  time  against  my 
advances — although  I  signed  to  them  that  I  was  their 
friend,  patting  them  on  -the  shoulders  to  inspire  confi- 
dence, and  tryinjg  to  make  them  understand  that  I  had 
saved  them  from  a  terrible  death.  I  fancy  they  all 
thought  they  had  died  and  were  now  in  the  presence 
of  the  mysterious  Great  Spirit !  At  any  rate,  it  was 
not  until  they  began  to  eat  freely  that  they  grew  in 
some  measure  accustomed  to  me.  Then  an  ungovern- 
able curiosity  manifested  itself.  From  gazing  at  me 
unceasingly,  they  took  to  feeling  me  and  patting  my 
skin.  They  made  queer,  guttural  sounds  with  their 
mouths,  evidently  expressive  of  amazement ;  they 
slapped  their  thighs,  and  cracked  their  fingers. 

Next,  my  belongings  came  in  for  inspection,  and 
everything  excited  wonderment  and  delight  to  such  a 
degree,  that  I  blessed  Providence  for  sending  me  so 
much  entertaining  society.  My  hut,  with  its  curious 
thatched  roof,  excited  vast  interest ;  and  it  was 
amusing  to  see  the  two  boys,  aged  respectively  about 
twelve  and  fourteen,  following  their  parents  about, 
jabbering  incessantly,  and  giving  me  sly,  half-terrified 
glances  as  they  examined  my  implements  and  utensils. 
The  woman  was  the  first  to  get  over  her  fear  of  me, 
and  she  soon  grew  to  trust  me  implicitly;  whereas 
her  husband  never  ceased  to  view  me  with  inexplicable 
suspicion  until  we  regained  his  own  country.  He  was 
a  big,  repulsive-looking  savage,  with  a  morose  and 
sullen  temper;  and  although  he  never  showed  signs 


74    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

of  open  antagonism,  yet  I  never  trusted  him  for  a 
moment  during  the  six  long  months  he  was  my 
*' guest"  on  the  little  sand-bank!  It  seems  I  un- 
wittingly offended  him,  and  infringed  the  courtesy 
common  among  his  people  by  declining  to  take  advan- 
tage of  a  certain  embarrassing  offer  which  he  made 
me  soon  after  his  recovery. 

It  may  not  be  anticipating  too  much  to  say  here  that 
the  woman  was  destined  to  play  a  vitally  important 
part  in  the  whole  of  my  life,  and  with  her  I  went 
through  adventures  and  saw  sights  more  weird  and 
wonderful  than  anything  I  had  ever  read  of,  even  in 
the  wildest  extravagances  of  sensational  fiction.  But 
the  ruling  passion  was  very  strong,  and  one  of  the 
first  things  I  did  was  to  take  my  black  friends  down 
to  the  beach  and  show  them  my  precious  boat  floating 
idly  in  the  lagoon.  Oddly  enough,  I  had  in  the  mean- 
time always  taken  the  greatest  care  of  the  boat,  keeping 
her  bottom  clean  and  generally  furbishing  her  up — 
having,  however,  no  particular  object  in  view  in  doing 
this,  except  perhaps  that  it  gave  me  something  to  do. 
The  poor  little  ^'  home-made "  boat  threw  the  blacks 
into  a  perfect  frenzy  of  astonishment,  and  they  con- 
cluded that  I  must  have  come  from  a  very  distant  part 
of  the  world  in  so  enormous  a  "catamaran."  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  from  that  moment  they  looked  upon  me 
as  most  certainly  a  kind  of  Supreme  Spirit  from  another 
world ;  they  may  have  had  doubts  before.  Next  I 
showed  them  the  wreck,  which  was  now  only  a  bare 
skeleton  of  rotting  woodwork,  but  still  plainly  dis- 
cernible among  the  coral  rocks.  I  tried  to  explain  to 
them  that  it  was  in  the  larger  boat  that  I  had  come, 
but  they  failed  to  understand  me. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF 


75 


On  returning  to  the  hut  I  put  on  my  clothes  for 
their  benefit,  whereupon  their  amazement  was  so  great 
that  I  seriously  contemplated  discontinuing  my  list  of 


MY   SECONDARY   SKIN 


wonders,  lest  they  should  become  absolutely  afraid  to 
remain  with  me.  The  clothes  they  considered  part  of 
myself — in  fact,  a  kind  of  secondary  skin  !    They  were 


^6        DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

terribly  frightened  and  distressed,  and  not  one  of  the 
four  dared  approach  me. 

The  blacks  did  not  build  themselves  any  place  of 
shelter,  but  merely  slept  in  the  open  air  at  night, 
under  the  lee  of  my  hut,  with,  a  large  fire  always  burn- 
ing at  their  feet.  I  offered  them  both  blankets  and 
sails  by  way  of  covering,  but  they  refused  them,  pre- 
ferring to  lie  huddled  close  together  for  warmth.  In 
the  morning  the  woman  would  prepare  breakfast  for 
them,  consisting  of  fish  (mainly  mullet),  birds'  and 
turtles'  eggs,  and  sea-fowl ;  to  which  would  perhaps  be 
added  some  little  luxury  from  my  own  stock.  They 
only  had  two  meals  a  day — one  in  the  morning  and 
the  other  in  the  afternoon.  Their  favourite  food  was 
turtle,  of  which  they  could  eat  enormous  quantities, 
especially  the  fat.  Bruno  was  a  long  time  before  he 
took  kindly  to  the  new  arrivals,  probably  because  they 
manifested  such  extraordinary  emotion  whenever  he 
lifted  up  his  voice  and  barked. 

I  think  the  only  thing  that  roused  the  father  of  the 
family  from  his  sullen  moods  was  my  extraordinary 
acrobatic  performances,  which  also  threw  the  two  little 
nigger  boys  into  hysterics  of  delight.  Father,  mother, 
and  children  tried  to  imitate  my  somersaults,  "wheels," 
and  contortions,  but  came  to  grief  so  desperately  (once 
the  morose  man  nearly  broke  his  neck)  that  they  soon 
gave  it  up.  The  man  would  sit  and  watch  our  gambols 
for  hours  without  moving  a  muscle.  I  was  never 
actually  afraid  of  him,  but  took  good  care  not  to  let 
him  get  possession  of  any  of  my  weapons ;  and  as  I 
had  also  taken  the  precaution  to  break  up  and  throw 
into  the  se-a  the  spears  he  had  brought  with  him  on 
his  catamaran,  1  felt  pretty  sure  he  could  not  do  much 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  yj 

mischief  even  if  he  were  so  disposed.  After  seeing 
me  bring  down  birds  with  my  bow  and  arrow  he  began 
to  hold  me  in  absolute  fear,  probably  because  he  had 
some  idea  that  his  own  skin  might  be  jeopardised  if  he 
did  not  accommodate  himself  to  circumstances.  I  re- 
peatedly told  him  that  with  my  boat  I  might  perhaps 
some  day  help  him  to  get  back  to  his  own  country,  and 
1  must  say  that  this  suggestion  roused  him  somewhat 
from  his  lethargy,  and  he  appeared  profoundly  grateful. 
Gradually  I  acquired  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the 
extraordinary  language  of  the  blacks,  and  had  many 
a  chat  with  the  woman,  who  also  picked  up  a  few 
words  of  comical  English  from  me.  She  was  a  woman 
of  average  height,  lithe  and  supple,  with  an  intelligent 
face  and  sparkling  eyes.  She  was  a  very  interesting 
companion,  and  as  I  grew  more  proficient  in  her  queer 
language  of  signs,  and  slaps,  and  clicks,  I  learnt  from 
her  many  wonderful  things  about  the  habits  and 
customs  of  the  Austrahan  aborigines,  which  proved 
extremely  useful  to  me  in  after  years.  Yamba — for 
that  was  her  name — told  me  that  when  I  rescued  them 
they  had  been  blown  miles  and  miles  out  of  their 
course  and  away  from  their  own  country  by  the  terrible 
gale  that  had  been  raging  about  a  fortnight  previously. 
It  seems  that  they  had  originally  started  out  on  an 
expedition  to  catch  turtles  on  a  little  island  between 
Cambridge  Gulf  and  Queen's  Channel,  but  the  storm 
carried  them  out  to  sea.  They  drifted  about  for  many 
days,  until  at  length  they  reached  my  little  island. 
The  only  food  they  had  during  the  whole  of  this  time 
was  turtle,  but  they  were  entirely  without  water.  One 
would  think  that  they  must  inevitably  have  died  of 
thirst,  but  the  blacks  are  wonderful  people  for  going 


7%        DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

without  water  for  prolonged  periods.  Moreover,  they 
find  a  mouthful  of  salt  water  occasionally  quite  sus- 
taining. 

One  of  my  most  amusing  experiences  with  the  blacks 
was  one  day  when,  quite  accidentally,  Yamba  caught 
sight  of  herself  for  the  first  time  in  the  little  oval 
looking-glass  I  had  hanging  up  in  the  hut  near  my 
hammock.  She  thoughtlessly  took  it  down  and  held 
it  close  up  to  her  face.  She  trembled,  felt  the  surface 
of  the  glass,  and  then  looked  hurriedly  on  the  back. 
One  long,  last,  lingering  look  she  gave,  and  then  flew 
screaming  out  of  the  hut. 

Oddly  enough,  she  overcame  her  fears  later,  and, 
woman-like,  would  come  and  look  in  the  mirror  for  an 
hour  at  a  stretch,  smacking  her  lips  all  the  while  in 
wonderment,  and  making  most  comical  grimaces  and 
contortions  to  try  various  effects.  Her  husband,  how- 
ever (Gunda,  as  I  called  him),  was  very  differently 
affected,  for  the  moment  his  wife  showed  him  his  own 
reflection  in  the  glass  he  gave  a  terrific  yell  and  bolted 
to  the  other  end  of  the  Httle  island,  in  a  state  of  the 
most  abject  terror.  He  never  quite  overcame  his  terror 
and  distrust  of  the  mirror,  which  he  evidently  con- 
sidered possessed  of  life,  and  in  reality  a  kind  of  spirit 
to  be  feared  and  avoided. 

But,  of  course,  the  two  boys  found  the  glass  a 
never-ending  source  of  amazement  and  wonder,  and 
were  not  in  the  least  afraid  of  it  after  the  first  natural 
shock  of  surprise.  Altogether,  I  thanked  God  for 
sending  me  my  new  companions  ;  and,  as  you  may 
suppose,  they  afforded  me  as  much  entertainment  and 
gratification  as  I  and  my  belongings  did  them. 

Every  evening,  before  retiring  to  rest,  the  family 


AS   TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  79 

squatted  round  the  fire  and  indulged  in  a  mournful 
kind  of  chant — singing,  as  I  afterwards  learnt,  the 
wonders  they  had  seen  on  the  white  man's  island ;  my 
mirror  coming  in  for  special  mention.  This  was  the 
only  approach  to  a  "  religious  service  "  I  ever  saw,  and 
was  partly  intended  to  propitiate  or  frighten  away  the 
spirits  of  the  departed,  of  whom  the  Australian  blacks 
have  a  great  horror. 

The  blacks  had  been  with  me  two  or  three  weeks, 
when  one  evening  the  man  approached  and  intimated 
in  unmistakable  terms  that  he  wanted  to  get  away 
from  the  island  and  return  to  his  own  land.  He  said 
he  thought  he  and  his  family  could  easily  return  to 
their  friends  on  the  mainland  by  means  of  the  cata- 
maran that  had  brought  them. 

And  Yamba,  that  devoted  and  mysterious  creature, 
solemnly  pointed  out  to  me  a  glowing  star  far  away  on 
the  horizon.  There,  she  said,  lay  the  home  of  her  people. 
After  this  I  was  convinced  that  the  mainland  could  not 
be  more  than  a  couple  of  hundred  miles  or  so  away, 
and  I  determined  to  accompany  them  on  the  journey 
thither,  in  the  hope  that  this  might  form  one  of  the 
stepping-stones  to  civiHsation  and  my  own  kind.  We 
lost  no  time.  One  glorious  morning  we  three — Yamba, 
her  husband,  and  myself — repaired  to  the  fatal  lagoon 
that  hemmed  in  my  precious  boat,  and  without  more 
ado  dragged  it  up  the  steep  bank  by  means  of 
rollers  run  on  planks  across  the  sand-spit,  and  then 
finally,  with  a  tremendous  splash  and  an  excited 
hurrah  from  myself,  it  glided  out  into  the  water,  a 
thing  of  meaning,  of  escape,  and  of  freedom.  The 
boat,  notwithstanding  its  long  period  of  uselessness, 
was  perfectly  water-tight  and  thoroughly  seaworthy, 


8o   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

although  still  unpleasantly  low  at  the  stern.  Gunda 
was  impatient  to  be  off,  but  1  pointed  out  to  him  that, 
as  the  wind  persistently  blew  in  the  wrong  direction  day 
after  day,  we  should  be  compelled  perforce  to  delay  our 
departure  perhaps  for  some  months.  You  see,  Gunda 
was  not  a  man  who  required  to  make  much  preparation: 
he  thought  all  we  should  have  to  do  was  to  tumble  into 
the  boat  and  set  sail  across  the  sunHt  sea.  '^  I  can 
paddle  my  catamaran  against  both  wind  and  tide ;  why 
cannot  you  do  the  same  ?  "  he  would  say.  He  did  not 
understand  the  advantage  or  uses  of  sails.  He  had 
lost  his  own  paddles  in  the  storm,  otherwise  he  would 
in  all  probability  have  left  the  island  on  his  own 
account.  He  was  like  a  fish  out  of  water  when  the 
novelty  of  his  situation  wore  off.  On  the  other  hand, 
I  thought  of  water,  provisions,  and  other  equally 
vital  necessaries.  So  Gunda  had  to  rest  content  for 
a  time,  and  he  grew,  if  possible,  more  morose  and 
sullen  than  ever. 

During  this  period  of  impatient  waiting,  we  made 
many  experimental  voyages  out  to  sea,  and  generally 
got  the  boat  into  capital  trim  for  the  great  and  eventful 
journey.  I  saw  to  it  that  she  was  thoroughly  well 
provisioned  with  tinned  stuffs — long  put  on  one  side 
for  the  purpose ;  and  I  may  say  here  that  at  the  last 
moment  before  starting  I  placed  on  board  three  large  live 
turtles,  which  supplied  us  with  meat  until  we  reached 
the  Australian  main.  I  also  took  a  plentiful  supply 
of  water,  in  bags  made  from  the  intestines  of  birds 
and  fishes;  also  a  small  cask  containing  about  ten 
gallons  of  the  precious  fluid,  which  was  placed  near  the 
mast.  In  short,  as  far  I  was  able,  I  provided  everything 
that  was  necessary  for  this  most  important  journey. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  8i 

But  consider  for  a  moment  the  horrible  doubts  and 
fears  that  racked  me.  I  fancied  the  mainland  was  not 
very  far  away,  but  you  must  remember  I  was  not 
at  all  certain  how  long  it  would  take  us  to  reach  it ; 
nor  could  I  be  sure,  therefore,  whether  I  had  taken  a 
sufficient  supply  of  food  and  water.  Our  provisions, 
which  included  tinned  meats,  corn  in  the  cob  and  loose, 
turtles'  flesh  and  intestines,  flour,  rice,  beans,  &c., 
would,  however,  on  a  fairly  liberal  allowance,  last  a 
little  over  three  weeks.  We  also  carried  some  blankets, 
nails,  tar,  and  other  requisites.  Of  my  books  I  only 
took  my  Bible  with  me.  This  I  wrapped  up  in  parch- 
ment made  from  peHcan  skin,  together  with  four  photo- 
graphs of  a  certain  young  lady  which  I  carried  about 
with  me  throughout  the  whole  of  my  wanderings.  The 
propulsive  power  was,  of  course,  the  big  lug-sail,  which 
was  always  held  loosely  in  the  hand,  and  never  made 
fast,  for  fear  of  a  sudden  capsize. 

Six  months  had  passed  away  since  the  advent  of 
my  visitors,  when  one  morning  we  all  marched  out 
from  the  hut  and  down  to  the  beach ;  the  two  bo3'S 
fairly  yelling  with  joy,  and  waving  bunches  of  green 
corn  plucked  from  my  garden.  Their  mother  skipped 
gaily  hither  and  thither,  and  I  myself  was  hardly  able 
to  control  my  transports  of  excitement  and  exhilara- 
tion. Even  Gunda  beamed  upon  the  preparations  for 
our  release.  I  did  not  demolish  my  hut  of  pearl 
shells,  but  left  it  standing  exactly  as  it  had  been  during 
the  past  two  and  a  half  years.  Nor  must  I  omit  to 
mention  that  I  buried  my  treasure  of  pearls  deep  in  the 
sand  at  one  end  of  the  island,  and  in  all  human  proba- 
bility it  is  there  at  this  moment,  for  I  have  never 
returned  for  them,  as  I  fondly  hoped  to  be  able  to  do 


82    DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

so  at  some  future  date.  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that 
the  precious  box  has  been  washed  away  in  a  storm, 
but  more  probably  the  contrary  is  the  case,  and  still 
deeper  layers  of  sand  have  been  silted  over  this  great 
treasure.  I  dared  not  carry  anything  oversea  that 
was  not  vitally  necessary,  and  what  good  were  pearls 
to  me  on  my  fearful  journey,  convoying  four  other 
people  out  into  the  unknown  in  a  crazy,  home-made 


^^^^^^^^^^- 


GREAT    EXCITEMENT 


boat  ?  Even  masses  of  virgin  gold  were  of  very  little 
use  to  me  in  the  years  that  followed ;  but  of  this  more 
anon.  My  condition,  by  the  way,  at  this  time  was 
one  of  robust  health ;  indeed,  I  was  getting  quite 
stout  owing  to  the  quantity  of  turtle  I  had  been 
eating,  whilst  Yaraba's  husband  was  positively  corpu- 
lent from  the  same  reason. 

That   glorious   morning   in   the  last  week  of  May 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  83 

1866  will  ever  be  graven  in  my  memory.  As  I 
cast  off  from  that  saving  but  cruel  shore,  I  thanked 
my  Maker  for  having  preserved  me  so  long  and 
brought  me  through  such  awful  perils,  as  well  as 
for  the  good  health  I  had  always  enjoyed.  As  the 
boat  began  to  ripple  through  the  inclosed  waters  of 
the  lagoon,  the  spirits  of  the  four  blacks  rose  so 
high  that  I  was  afraid  they  would  capsize  the  little 
craft  in  their  excitement. 

There  was  a  strong,  warm  breeze  blowing  in  our 
favour,  and  soon  my  island  home  was  receding  swiftly 
from  our  view.  The  last  thing  to  remain  in  sight  was 
the  shell  hut,  but  this,  too,  disappeared  before  we  had 
covered  three  miles.  It  would  have  been  visible  from 
a  big  ship  at  a  much  greater  distance,  but  no  one 
would  ever  imagine  what  it  really  was.  Yamba  sat 
near  me  in  the  stern,  but  her  husband  curled  himself 
up  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  boat ;  and  from  the  time 
we  reached  the  open  sea  practically  until  we  gained 
the  main,  he  did  not  relax  his  attitude  of  reserve  and 
dogged  silence.  He  ate  and  drank  enormously,  how- 
ever. You  would  have  thought  we  were  in  a  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  instead  of  an  open  boat 
with  limited  provisions  and  an  unknown  journey  in 
front  of  us.  He  did  exert  himself  sufficiently  on  one 
occasion,  however,  to  dive  overboard  and  capture  a 
turtle.  He  was  sitting  moodily  in  the  prow  of  the 
boat  as  usual  one  afternoon,  when  suddenly  he  jumped 
up,  and  with  a  yell  took  a  header  overboard,  almost 
capsizing  our  heavily  laden  boat.  At  first  I  thought 
he  must  have  gone  mad,  but  on  heaving  to,  I  saw  him 
some  little  distance  away  in  the  water  struggling  with 
a  turtle.     He  managed  to  get  it  on  its  back  after  a 


84   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

time,  and  though  I  felt  annoyed  at  his  recklessness,  I 
could  not  help  laughing  at  his  antics  and  the  comical 
efforts  made  by  the  turtle  to  escape.  The  turtle  was 
duly  hauled  aboard,  and  we  then  continued  our  voyage 
without  delay.  I  was  dreadfully  afraid  of  being  caught 
in  a  storm.  Our  boat  must  inevitably  have  foundered 
had  the  seas  been  at  all  rough. 

Fortunately  never  once  did  the  wind  change,  so 
that  we  were  able  to  sail  on  steadily  and  safely  night 
and  day,  without  deviating  in  the  least  from  our 
course.  We  travelled  fully  four  knots  an  hour,  the 
wind  and  current  being  nearly  always  in  our  favour. 
It  was,  however,  a  painfully  monotonous  and  trying 
experience  to  sit  thus  in  the  boat,  cramped  up  as  we 
were,  day  after  day  and  night  after  night.  About  the 
fifth  day  we  sighted  a  small  island — probably  Barker 
Island,  in  the  vicinity  of  Admiralty  Gulf — and  landed 
upon  it  at  once  solely  for  the  purpose  of  stretching 
our  aching  limbs.  This  little  island  was  uninhabited, 
and  covered  to  the  very  water's  edge  with  dense 
tropical  vegetation.  It  was  a  perfectly  exhilarating 
experience  to  walk  about  on  real  earth  once  more. 
We  cooked  some  turtle  meat  and  stayed  a  few  hours 
on  the  island,  after  which  we  entered  the  boat  and 
put  off  on  our  journey  again.  Just  before  leaving  I 
stored  a  quantity  of  corn,  cobs,  seeds,  &c.,  in  a  little 
cairn  in  case  we  might  be  compelled  to  return.  I 
always  steered,  keeping  east  by  north,  but  Yamba 
relieved  me  for  a  few  hours  each  evening — generally 
between  six  and  nine  o'clock,  when  I  enjoyed  a  brief 
but  sound  sleep.  Gunda  never  offered  to  take  a  spell, 
and  I  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  trouble  him. 

Thus  night  and  day  we  sailed  steadily  on,  occasion- 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  85 

ally  sighting  sharks  and  even  whales.  We  passed  a 
great  number  of  islands,  some  of  them  wooded  and 
covered  with  beautiful  jungle  growths,  whilst  others 
were  nothing  but  rock  and  sand.  None  of  them 
seemed  to  be  inhabited.  The  sea  was  smooth  all 
the  time,  but  occasionally  the  currents  carried  us  out 
of  our  course  among  the  islands,  and  then  we  had 
to  land  and  wait  till  the  tide  turned.  No  matter 
how  the  wind  was,  if  the  tide  was  not  also  in 
our  favour  we  had  to  land.  We  cruised  in  and  out 
among  the  islands  for  ten  days  or  more,  when  we 
rounded  Cape  Londonderry  and  then  steered  S.  by  E. 
The  current,  however,  carried  us  straight  for  Cam- 
bridge Gulf.  One  little  island  I  sighted  between 
Cambridge  Gulf  and  Queen's  Channel  had  a  curious 
house-like  structure  built  in  one  of  the  trees  on  the 
coast.  The  trunk  of  this  tree  was  very  large  and 
tapering,  and  the  platform  arrangement  was  built 
amongst  the  branches  at  the  top,  after  the  manner 
adopted  by  the  natives  of  New  Guinea. 

You  may  imagine  my  feehngs  when,  early  one 
morning,  Yamba  suddenly  gripped  my  arm  and  mur- 
mured, "We  are  nearing  my  home  at  last."  I  leaped 
to  my  feet,  and  a  few  minutes  afterwards  the  mainland 
came  hazily  into  vi€w.  Instead  of  heading  straight 
for  it,  however,  we  made  for  a  beautiful  island  that 
stood  in  the  mouth  of  a  large  bay,  and  here  we  landed 
to  recuperate  for  a  day  or  so.  Immediately  on  our 
arrival,  Yamba  and  her  husband  lit  some  fires,  and 
made  what  were  apparently  smoke-signals  to  their 
friends  on  the  main.  They  first  cut  down  a  quantity 
of  green  wood  with  my  tomahawk  and  arranged  it  in 
the  form   of  a  pyramid.     Next  they  obtained  fire  by 


86   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

rubbing  together  two  pieces  of  a  certain  kind  of  wood  ; 
and  as  the  smoke  ascended  we  saw  answering  smoke- 
signals  from  the  opposite  shore.  The  smoke  was 
allowed  to  ascend  in  puffs  which  were  regulated  by 
the  manipulation  of  boughs.  Not  long  after  this 
curious  exchange  of  signals  (and  the  practice  is  virtu- 
ally universal  throughout  the  whole  of  aboriginal 
Australia),  we  saw  three  catamarans,  or  floats,  each 
carrying  a  man,  shooting  across  towards  our  island. 
These  catamarans  merely  consisted  of  a  broad  plank 
with  a  stick  placed  transversely  at  the  prow,  on  which 
the  black  placed  his  feet.  He  squatted  down  on  the 
plank  and  then  paddled  forward.  I  viewed  their 
approach  with  mixed  sensations  of  alarm  and  hope.  I 
was  in  the  power  of  these  people,  I  thought.  They 
could  tear  me  limb  from  limb,  torture  me,  kill  and  eat 
me,  if  they  so  pleased ;  I  was  absolutely  helpless. 
These  fears,  however,  were  but  momentary,  and  back 
upon  my  mind  rushed  the  calm  assurances  I  had 
obtained  from  my  clear-eyed  mentor,  Yamba,  to  say 
nothing  about  the  mysterious  message  of  hope  and 
consolation  that  had  startled  the  solemn  stillness  of  that 
tropical  night.  I  knew  these  people  to  be  cannibals, 
for,  during  the  long  talks  we  used  to  have  on  the 
island,  Yamba  had  described  to  me  their  horrid  feasts 
after  a  successful  war.  Nevertheless,  I  awaited  the 
arrival  of  the  little  flotilla  w^ith  all  the  complacency  I 
could  muster,  but  at  the  same  time  I  was  careful  to 
let  Yamba's  husband  be  the  first  to  receive  them. 

And  he  advanced  to  meet  them.  The  new-comers, 
having  landed,  squatted  down  some  little  distance 
away  from  the  man  they  had  come  to  meet,  and  then 
Gunda  and  they  gradually  edged    forwards  towards 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  87 

one  another,  until  at  length  each  placed  his  nose 
upon  the  other's  shoulder.  This  was  apparently  the 
native  method  of  embracing.  Later  Gunda  brought  his 
friends  to  be  introduced  to  me,  and  to  the  best  of  my 
abiHty  I  went  through  the  same  ridiculous  ceremony. 
I  must  say  my  new  friends  evinced  an  almost  uncon- 
trollable terror  at  the  sight  of  me,  Gunda,  however, 
made  it  clear  that  I  was  not  a  returned  spirit,  but 
a  man  like  themselves — a  great  man  certainly,  and 
a  mysterious  man,  but  a  man  all  the  same.  Although 
by  this  time  my  skin  had  become  tanned  and  dark, 
there  was  seemingly  no  end  to  the  amazement  it 
caused  the  blacks.  They  timidly  touched  and  felt  my 
body,  legs,  and  arms,  and  were  vastly  anxious  to 
know  what  the  covering  was  I  had  round  my  body. 
In  due  time,  however,  the  excitement  subsided  some- 
what, and  then  the  new-comers  prepared  more  smoke- 
signals  to  their  friends  on  the  mainland — this  time 
building  five  separate  fires  in  the  form  of  a  circle. 

It  was  interesting  to  watch  this  remarkable  method 
of  communication.  Each  fire  was  set  smoking  fiercely 
a  few  seconds  after  its  neighbour  had  started.  Finally, 
the  columns  of  smoke  united,  and  ascended  together 
in  the  form  of  a  huge  pyramid,  going  up  a  tremendous 
height  into  the  still,  hot  air.  The  meaning  of  these 
signals  was  explained  to  me.  They  indicated  to  the 
people  on  the  mainland  that  the  advance  guard  had 
found  Gunda  and  his  family';  that  they  had  a  great 
man  with  them ;  and  that,  furthermore,  they  might 
expect  us  to  return  all  together  almost  immediately. 
By  this  time,  thanks  to  Yamba's  able  and  intelligent 
lessons,  I  was  able  to  speak  the  queer  language  of  the 
blacks  with  some  show  of  fluency,  and  I  could  under- 


88   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

stand  them  well  enough  when  they  did  not  jabber 
too  quickly. 

The  next  phase  of  our  arrival  was  that  ''  smokes " 
were  ascending  in  all  directions  on  the  mainland,  evi- 
dently calling  the  tribes  from  far  and  near.  How  these 
smoke-signals  gave  an  idea  of  the  white  man  and  his 
wonders  I  am  utterly  at  a  loss  to  imagine.  In  the 
meantime  Yamba  had  prepared  a  great  feast  for  the 
visitors,  the  principal  dish  being  our  remaining  big 
turtle,  of  which  the  blacks  ate  a  prodigious  quantity. 
I  afterwards  told  them  that  I  was  in  need  of  a  pro- 
longed rest,  my  long  journey  having  wearied  me,  and 
after  this  explanation  I  retired,  and  slung  my  hammock 
in  a  shady  nook,  where  I  slept  undisturbed  from  shortly 
before  noon  until  late  in  the  day,  when  my  ever-faith- 
ful  Yamba,  who  had  been  keeping  a  careful  watch, 
woke  me  and  said  that  the  festivities  prior  to  our  de- 
parture were  about  to  take  place. 

Much  refreshed,  I  rejoined  the  blacks,  and,  to  their  un- 
bounded delight  and  amazement,  entertained  them  for 
a  few  minutes  with  some  of  my  acrobatic  tricks  and  con- 
tortions. Some  of  the  more  emulous  among  them  tried 
to  imitate  my  feats  of  agility,  but  always  came  dismally 
to  grief — a  performance  that  created  even  more  frantic 
merriment  than  my  own.  After  a  little  while  the  blacks 
disappeared,  only  to  come  forth  a  few  minutes  later 
with  their  bodies  gorgeously  decorated  with  stripes  of 
yellow  ochre  and  red  and  white  pigments.  These 
startling  preparations  preceded  a  great  corroboree  in 
honour  of  my  arrival,  and  in  this  embarrassing  func- 
tion I  was,  of  course,  expected  to  join.  The  ceremony 
was  kept  up  with  extraordinary  vigour  the  whole  night 
long,  but  all  I  was  required  to  do  was  to  sit  beating 


AS   TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  89 

sticks  together,  and  join  in  the  general  uproar.  This 
was  all  very  well  for  a  little  while,  but  the  monotony 
of  the  affair  was  terrible,  and  I  withdrew  to  my  ham- 
mock before  midnight. 

In  the  morning  I  saw  a  great  fleet  of  catamarans 
putting  off  from  the  mainland,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
between  fifty  and  sixty  natives  joined  our  party  on  the 
island.  Then  followed  the  usual  greetings  and  comical 
expressions  of  amazement — of  course,  at  the  sight  of 
me,  my  boat,  and  everything  in  it.  A  few  hours 
later  the  whole  crowd  left  the  island,  led  by  me  in 
the  big  boat — which,  by  the  way,  attracted  as  much 
interest  as  I  did  myself.  The  natives  forced  their 
catamarans  through  the  water  at  great  speed,  using 
only  one  paddle,  which  was  dipped  first  on  one  side 
and  then  on  the  other  in  rapid  succession,  without, 
however,  causing  the  apparently  frail  craft  to  swerve 
in  the  slightest  degree. 

As  we  approached  the  new  country,  I  beheld  a  vast 
surging  crowd  of  excited  blacks — men,  women,  and 
children,  all  perfectly  naked — standing  on  the  beach. 
The  moment  we  landed  there  was  a  most  extraordinary 
rush  for  my  boat,  and  everything  on  board  her  was 
there  and  then  subjected  to  the  closest  scrutiny. 

The  people  seemed  to  be  divided  into  clans,  and 
when  one  clan  was  busy  inspecting  my  implements 
and  utensils,  another  was  patiently  waiting  its  turn  to 
examine  the  white  man's  wonders.  I  sat  in  the  boat 
for  some  time,  fairly  bewildered  and  deafened  by  the 
uproarious  jabberings  and  shrill,  excited  cries  of  amaze- 
ment and  wonder  that  filled  the  air  all  round  me.  At 
last,  however,  the  blacks  who  had  come  out  to  meet 
us  on  the  island  came  to  my  rescue,  and  escorted  me 


go        DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

through  the  crowd,  with  visible  pride,  to  an  eminence 
overlooking  the  native  camping-ground.  I  then  learnt 
that  the  news  of  my  coming  had  been  smoke-signalled 
in  every  direction  for  many  miles ;  hence  the  enormous 
gathering  of  clans  on  the  beach. 

The  camping-ground  I  now  found  myself  upon  con- 
sisted   of    about    thirty    primitive    shelters,    built    of 


^' 


APPROACHING   THE    NEW   COUNTRY 


boughs  in  the  most  flimsy  manner,  and  only  intended 
to  break  the  force  of  the  wind.  These  shelters,  or 
*'  break-winds,"  were  crescent-shaped,  had  no  roof, 
and  were  not  in  any  way  closed  in  in  front.  There 
were,  however,  two  or  three  grass  huts  of  beehive 
shape,  about  seven  feet  high  and  ten  feet  in  diameter, 
with  a  queer  little  hole  at  the  base  through  which  the 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  91 

occupier   had    to   crawl.      The    inside   was   perfectly 
dark. 

I  was  told  I  could  have  either  a  break-wind  of 
boughs  or  a  beehive  hut,  and  on  consideration  I  chose 
the  latter.  It  would,  I  reflected,  ensure  something 
approaching  privacy.  My  indefatigable  Yamba  and  a 
few  of  her  women  friends  set  to  work  then  and  there, 
and  positively  in  less  than  an  hour  the  grass  hut  was 
ready  for  occupation !  I  did  not,  however,  stay  to 
witness  the  completion  of  the  building  operations,  but 
went  off  with  some  self-appointed  cicerones  to  see  the 
different  camps ;  everywhere  I  was  received  with  the 
greatest  enthusiasm  and  manifestations  of  respect  and 
friendship.  My  simple  loin-cloth  of  crimson  Japanese 
silk  occasioned  much  astonishment  among  the  blacks, 
but  curiously  enough  the  men  were  far  more  astonished 
at  my  footprints  than  any  other  attribute  I  possessed. 
It  seems  that  when  they  themselves  walk  they  turn 
their  feet  sideways,  so  that  they  only  make  a  half 
impression,  so  to  speak,  instead  of  a  full  footprint. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  of  course  planted  my  feet  squarely 
down,  and  this  imprint  in  the  sand  was  followed  by  a 
crowd  of  blacks,  who  gravely  peered  at  every  footprint, 
slapping  themselves  and  clicking  in  amazement  at  the 
wonderful  thing ! 


CHAPTER    V 

Some  queer  dishes — Water  wizards — A  mysterious  deputation — I  pro- 
test against  cannibalism — My  marriage  ceremony — A  startling  pro- 
position— Daily  routine — A  diet  of  worms — I  proceed  cautiously 
— -The  cannibal  poet  sells  his  wares — Fishing  extraordinary — How 
emus  were  caught — Eternal  fires — A  coming  horror — The  first 
cannibal  feast. 

1SAW  very  little  of  Gunda  from  the  moment  of  land- 
ing. I  feel  sure  that  the  fact  of  his  having  seen  so 
much  of  the  world,  and  travelled  such  a  long  distance 
— to  say  nothing  about  bringing  back  so  wonderful 
a  creature  as  myself — had  rendered  him  a  very  great 
man  indeed  in  the  estimation  of  his  friends ;  and  in 
consequence  of  this  so  much  honour  was  paid  him 
that  he  became  puffed  up  with  pride,  and  neglected 
his  faithful  wife. 

Everywhere  I  went  the  natives  were  absolutely  over- 
whelming in  their  hospitality,  and  presents  of  food  of 
all  kinds  were  fairly  showered  upon  me,  including  such 
delicacies  as  kangaroo  and  opossum  meat,  rats,  snakes, 
tree-worms,  fish,  &c.,  which  were  always  left  outside 
my  hut.  Baked  snake,  I  ought  to  mention,  was  a  very 
pleasant  dish  indeed,  but  as  there  was  no  salt  forth- 
coming, and  the  flesh  was  very  tasteless,  I  cannot  say 
I  enjoyed  this  particular  native  dainty.  The  snakes 
were  invariably  baked  whole  in  their  skins,  and   the 

meat  was  very  tender  and  juicy,  though  a  little  insipid 

92 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   93 

as  to  flavour.  The  native  method  of  cooking  is  to  scoop 
out  a  hole  in  the  sand  with  the  hands,  and  then  place 
the  article  to  be  cooked  at  the  bottom.  Some  loose 
stones  would  then  be  thrown  over  the  ^' joint."  Next 
would  come  a  layer  of  sand,  and  the  fire  was  built  on  the 
top  of  all.  Rats  were  always  plentiful — often  so  much 
so  as  to  become  a  serious  nuisance.  They  were  of  the 
large  brown  variety,  and  were  not  at  all  bad  eating. 
I  may  say  here  that  the  women-folk  were  responsible 
for  the  catching  of  the  rats,  the  method  usually  adopted 
being  to  poke  in  their  holes  with  sticks,  and  then  kill 
them  as  they  rushed  out.  The  women,  by  the  way, 
were  responsible  for  a  good  many  things.  They  were 
their  masters'  dressers,  so  to  speak,  in  that  they  were 
required  to  carry  supplies  of  the  greasy  clay  or  earth 
with  which  the  blacks  anoint  their  bodies  to  ward  off  the 
sun's  rays  and  insect  bites ;  and  beside  this,  woe  betide 
the  wives  if  corroboree  time  found  them  without  an 
ample  supply  of  coloured  pigments  for  the  decoration 
of  their  masters'  bodies.  One  of  the  principal  duties 
of  the  women-folk,  however,  was  the  provision  of  roots 
for  the  family's  dinner.  The  most  important  among 
these  necessaries — besides  fine  yams — were  the  root 
and  bud  of  a  kind  of  water-lily,  which  when  roasted 
tasted  not  unhke  a  sweet  potato. 

There  was  usually  a  good  water  supply  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  these  camps,  and  if  it  failed  (as  it 
very  frequently  did),  the  whole  tribe  simply  moved  its 
quarters  elsewhere — perhaps  a  hundred  miles  off. 

The  instinct  of  these  people  for  finding  water,  how- 
ever, was  nothing  short  of  miraculous.  No  one  would 
think  of  going  down  to  the  seashore  to  look  for  fresh 
water,  yet  they  often  showed  me  the  purest  and  most 


94   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

refreshing  of  liquids  oozing  up  out  of  the  sand  on  the 
beach  after  the  tide  had  receded. 

All  this  time,  and  for  many  months  afterwards,  my 
boat  and  everything  it  contained  were  saved  from 
molestation  and  theft  by  a  curious  device  on  the  part 
of  Yamba.  She  simply  placed  a  couple  of  crossed 
sticks  on  the  sand  near  the  bows,  this  being  evidently 
a  kind  of  Masonic  sign  to  all  beholders  that  they  were 
to  respect  the  property  of  the  stranger  among  them ; 
and  I  verily  believe  that  the  boat  and  its  contents  might 
have  remained  there  until  they  fell  to  pieces  before  any 
one  of  those  cannibal  blacks  would  have  dreamed  of 
touching  anything  that  belonged  to  me. 

After  a  time  the  natives  began  pointedly  to  suggest 
that  I  should  stay  with  them.  They  had  probably 
heard  from  Yamba  about  the  strange  things  I  possessed, 
and  the  occult  powers  1  was  supposed  to  be  gifted 
with.  A  day  or  two  after  my  landing,  a  curious  thing 
happened — nothing  more  or  less  than  the  celebration 
of  my  marriage !  I  was  standing  near  my  boat,  still 
full  of  thoughts  of  escape,  when  two  magnificent  naked 
chiefs,  decked  with  gaudy  pigments  and  feather  head- 
dresses, advanced  towards  me,  leading  between  them 
a  young,  dusky  maiden  of  comparatively  pleasing 
appearance. 

The  three  were  followed  by  an  immense  crowd  of 
natives,  and  were  within  a  few  feet  of  me,  when  they 
halted  suddenly.  One  of  the  chiefs  then  stepped  out 
and  offered  me  a  murderous-looking  club,  with  a  big 
knob  at  one  end,  which  ugly  weapon  was  known  as 
a  "waddy."  As  he  presented  this  club  the  chief 
made  signs  that  I  was  to  knock  the  maiden  on  the 
head  with  it.     Now,  on  this  I   confess   I  was  struck 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  95 

with  horror  and  dismay  at  my  position,  for,  instantly 
recalHng  what  Yamba  had  told  me,  I  concluded  that  a 
cannibal  feast  was  about  to  be  given  in  my  honour^  and 
that — worst  horror  of  all — I  might  have  to  lead  off 
with  the  first  mouthful  of  that  smiling  girl.  Of  course, 
I  reflected  they  had  brought  the  helpless  victim  to  me, 
the  distinguished  stranger,  to  kill  with  my  own  hands. 
At  that  critical  moment,  however,  I  resolved  to  be 
absolutely  firm,  even  if  it  cost  me  my  life. 

While  I  hesitated,  the  chief  remained  absolutely 
motionless,  holding  out  the  murderous-looking  club, 
and  looking  at  me  interrogatively,  as  though  unable  to 
understand  why  I  did  not  avail  myself  of  his  offer. 
Still  more  extraordinary,  the  crowd  behind  observed  a 
solemn  and  disconcerting  silence.  I  looked  at  the  girl; 
to  my  amazement  she  appeared  delighted  with  things 
generally — a  poor,  merry  little  creature,  not  more  than 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age.  I  decided  to  harangue 
the  chiefs,  and  as  a  preliminary  I  gave  them  the  universal 
sign  to  sit  down  and  parley.  They  did  so,  but  did 
not  seem  pleased  at  what  they  doubtless  considered 
an  unlooked-for  hitch  in  an  interesting  ceremony. 

Then  in  hesitating  signs,  slaps,  clicks,  and  guttural 
utterances,  I  gave  them  to  understand  that  it  was 
against  my  faith  to  have  anything  whatever  to  do 
with  the  horrid  orgy  they  contemplated.  The  Great 
Spirit  they  dreaded  so  much  yet  so  vaguely,  I  went 
on  to  say,  had  revealed  to  me  that  it  was  wrong  to  kill 
any  one  in  cold  blood,  "and  still  more  loathsome  and 
horrible  to  eat  the  flesh  of  a  murdered  fellow-creature. 
I  was  very  much  in  earnest,  and  I  waited  with  nervous 
trepidation  to  see  the  effect  of  my  peroration.  Under 
the  circumstances,  you  may  judge  of  my  astonishment 


96   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

when  not  only  the  chiefs,  but  the  whole  "nation"  as- 
sembled; suddenly  burst  into  roars  of  eerie  laughter. 

Then  came  Yamba  to  the  rescue.  Ah  !  noble  and 
devoted  creature !  The  bare  mention  of  her  name 
stirs  every  fibre  of  my  being  with  love  and  wonder. 
Greater  love  than  hers  no  creature  ever  knew,  and  not 
once  but  a  thousand  times  did  she  save  my  wretched 
life  at  the  risk  of  her  own. 

Well,  Yamba,  I  say,  came  up  and  whispered  to  me. 
She  had  been  studying  my  face  quietly  and  eagerly, 
and  had  gradually  come  to  see  what  was  passing  in 
my  mind.  She  whispered  that  the  chiefs,  far  from 
desiring  me  to  kill  the  girl  for  a  cannibal  feast,  were 
offering  her  to  me  as  a  wife,  and  that  I  was  merely 
expected  to  tap  her  on  the  head  with  the  stick,  in 
token  of  her  subjection  to  her  new  spouse  !  In  short, 
this  blow  on  the  head  was  the  legal  marriage  ceremony 
tout  simple.  I  maintained  my  dignity  as  far  as  possible, 
and  proceeded  to  carry  out  my  part  of  the  curious 
ceremony. 

I  tapped  the  bright-eyed  girl  on  the  head,  and  she 
immediately  fell  prostrate  at  my  feet,  in  token  of  her 
wifely  submission.  I  then  raised  her  up  gently,  and 
all  the  people  came  dancing  round  us,  uttering  weird 
cries  of  satisfaction  and  delight.  Oddly  enough, 
Yamba,  far  from  manifesting  any  jealousy,  seemed  to 
take  as  much  interest  as  any  one  in  the  proceedings, 
and  after  everything  was  over  she  led  my  new  wife 
away  to  the  little  "humpy,"  or  hut,  that  had  been 
built  for  me  by  the  women.  That  night  an  indescrib- 
ably weird  corroboree  was  held  in  my  honour,  and  I 
thought  it  advisable,  since  so  much  was  being  made 
of  me,  to  remain  there  all  night  and  acknowledge  the 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  97 

impromptu  songs  that  were  composed  and  sung  in  my 
honour  by  the  native  bards.  I  am  afraid  I  felt  utterly 
lost  without  Yamba,  who  was,  in  the  most  literal  sense, 
my  right  hand. 

By  this  time  she  could  speak  a  little  English,  and 
was  so  marvellously  intelligent  that  she  seemed  to 
discover  things  by  sheer  intuition  or  instinct.  I  think 
she  never  let  a  day  go  by  without  favourably  impress- 
ing the  chiefs  concerning  me,  my  prowess  and  my 
powers ;  and  without  her  help  I  simply  could  not  have 
lived  through  the  long  and  weary  years,  nor  should  I 
ever  have  returned  to  civilisation. 

The  very  next  day  after  my  **  marriage,"  having 
been  still  further  enlightened  as  to  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  natives,  I  waited  upon  Gunda,  and 
calmly  made  to  him  the  proposition  that  we  should 
exchange  wives.  This  suggestion  he  received  with 
a  kind  of  subdued  satisfaction,  or  holy  joy,  and  very 
few  further  negotiations  were  needed  to  make  the 
transaction  complete;  and,  be  it  said,  it  was  an 
every-day  transaction,  perfectly  legal  and  recognised 
by  all  the  clans.  Yamba  was  full  of  vigour  and  re- 
source, while  the  only  phrase  that  fitly  describes  her 
bush  lore  is  absolutely  miraculous.  This  will  be 
evinced  in  a  hundred  extraordinary  instances  in  this 
narrative. 

But  you  may  be  asking.  What  of  my  dog,  Bruno  ? 
Well,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  he  was  still  with  me,  but 
it  took  him  a  long  time  to  accustom  himself  to  his  new 
surroundings;  he  particularly  objected  to  associating 
with  the  miserable  pariah  curs  that  prowled  about 
the  encampment.  They  would  take  sly  bites  out  of 
him  when  he  was  not  looking,  but  on  the  whole,  he  was 

G 


98   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

well  able  to  hold  his  own,  being  much  more  powerful 
than  they. 

I  settled  down  to  my  new  life  in  the  course  of  a 
few  days,  but  I  need  hardly  remark  1  did  not  propose 
staying  in  that  forlorn  spot  longer  than  I  could  help. 
This  was  my  plan.  I  would,  first  of  all,  make  myself 
acquainted  with  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  blacks, 
and  pick  up  as  much  bushmanship  and  knowledge  of 
the  country  as  it  was  possible  to  acquire,  in  case  1 
should  have  to  travel  inland  in  search  of  civilisation 
instead  of  oversea.  I  knew  that  it  would  be  folly  on 
my  part  to  attempt  to  leave  those  hospitable  regions 
without  knowing  more  of  the  geography  of  the  country 
and  its  people.  There  was  always,  however,  the  hope 
that  some  day  I  might  be  able  either  to  get  away 
by  sea  in  my  boat,  or  else  hail  some  passing  vessel. 
The  blacks  told  me  they  had  seen  many  pass  at  a 
distance. 

Every  morning  I  was  astir  by  sunrise,  and — hope 
springing  eternal — at  once  searched  for  the  faintest 
indication  of  a  passing  sail.  Next  I  would  bathe  in 
a  lagoon  protected  from  sharks,  drying  myself  by  a 
run  on  the  beach.  Meanwhile  Yamba  would  have 
gone  out  searching  for  roots  for  breakfast,  and  she 
seldom  returned  without  a  supply  of  my  favourite 
water-lily  buds  already  mentioned.  Often,  in  the  years 
that  followed,  did  that  heroic  creature  tramp  on  foot 
a  hundred  miles  to  get  me  a  few  sprigs  of  saline  herbs. 
She  had  heard  me  say  I  wanted  salt,  which  commodity, 
strange  to  say,  was  never  used  by  the  natives;  and 
even  when  I  gave  them  some  as  an  experiment  they 
did  not  seem  to  care  about  it.  She  would  also  bring 
in,  by  way  of  seasoning,  a  kind  of  small  onion,  known 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  99 

as  the  nelga,  which,  when  roasted,  made  a  very  ac- 
ceptable addition  to  our  Hmited  fare.  The  natives 
themselves  had  but  two  meals  a  day  —  breakfast, 
between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  and  then  an  enormous 
feast  in  the  late  afternoon.  Their  ordinary  food  con- 
sisted of  kangaroo,  emu,  snakes,  rats,  and  fish ;  an 
especial  dainty  being  a  worm  found  in  the  black  ava 
tree,  or  in  any  decaying  trunk. 

These  worms  were  generally  grilled  on  hot  stones, 
and  eaten  several  at  a  time  like  small  whitebait.  I 
often  ate  them  myself,  and  found  them  most  palatable. 
After  breakfast  the  women  of  the  tribe  would  go  out 
hunting  roots  and  snaring  small  game  for  the  after- 
noon meal,  while  the  men  went  off  on  their  war  and 
hunting  expeditions,  or  amused  themselves  with  feats 
of  arms.  The  children  were  generally  left  to  their 
own  devices  in  the  camp,  and  the  principal  amusement 
of  the  boys  appeared  to  be  the  hurling  of  reed  spears 
at  one  another.  The  women  brought  home  the  roots 
(which  they  dug  up  with  yam  sticks,  generally  about 
four  feet  long)  in  nets  made  out  of  the  stringy  parts  of 
the  grass  tree ;  stringy  bark,  or  strong  pliable  reeds, 
slung  on  their  all-enduring  backs.  They  generally 
returned  heavily  laden  between  two  and  three  in  the 
afternoon.  I  always  knew  the  time  pretty  accurately 
by  the  sun,  but  I  lost  count  of  the  days.  The  months, 
however,  I«always  reckoned  by  the  moon^  and  for  each 
year  I  made  a  notch  on  the  inside  of  my  bow. 

My  own  food  was  usually  wrapped  in  palm  leaves 
before  being  placed  in  the  sand  oven.  Of  course  the 
leaves  always  burned,  but  they  kept  the  meat  free 
from  sand ;  and  my  indefatigable  wife  was  always 
exercising   her   ingenuity  to   provide    me  with   fresh 


lOO  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

dainties.  In  addition  to  the  ordinary  fare  of  the 
natives,  I  frequently  had  wild  ducks  and  turkeys,  and 
— what  was  perhaps  the  greatest  luxury  of  all — eggs, 
which  the  natives  sent  for  specially  on  my  account  to 
distant  parts  of  the  surrounding  country,  and  also  to 
the  islands  of  the  coast  where  white  cockatoos  reared 
their  young  in  rocky  cliffs. 

At  the  time  of  my  shipwreck  I  had  little  or  no 
knowledge  of  Australian  geography,  so  that  I  was 
utterly  at  a  loss  as  to  my  position.  I  afterwards 
learnt,  however,  that  Yamba's  home  was  on  Cambridge 
Gulf,  on  the  NNW.  coast  of  the  Australian  continent, 
and  that  the  central  point  of  our  camping  ground  at 
this  time  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Victoria  River, 
which  flows  into  Queen's  Channel. 

Almost  every  evening  the  blacks  would  hold  a  stately 
corroboree,  singing  and  chanting;  the  burden  of  their 
song  being  almost  invariably  myself,  my  belongings, 
and  my  prowess — which  latter,  I  fear,  was  magnified 
in  the  most  extravagant  manner.  Besides  the  corro- 
boree  they  also  would  assemble  for  what  might  not 
inaptly  be  termed  evening  prayers,  which  consisted  of 
a  poetical  recital  of  the  events  of  the  day.  I  ought  to 
mention  that  at  first  I  did  not  accompany  the  men  on 
their  excursions  abroad,  because  I  was  far  from  perfect 
in  their  language;  and  furthermore,  I  was  not  skilled 
in  hunting  or  in  bush  lore.  Therefore,,  fearful  of 
exciting  ridicule,  I  decided  to  remain  behind  in  the 
camp  until  I  was  thoroughly  grounded  in  everything 
there  was  to  be  learned.  Supposing,  for  example,  1 
had  gone  out  with  the  blacks,  and  had  to  confess 
myself  tired  after  tramping  several  miles.  Well,  this 
kind  of  thing  would  certainly  have  engendered  con- 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  loi 

tempt;  and  once  the  mysterious  white  stranger  was 
found  to  be  full  of  the  frailties  of  the  ordinary  man, 
his  prestige  would  be  gone,  and  then  life  would  pro- 
bably become  intolerable. 

Thus  everything  I  did  I  had  to  excel  in,  and  it 
was  absolutely  necessary  that  I  should  be  perpetually 
**  astonishing  the  natives,"  in  the  most  literal  sense  of 
the  phrase.  Accordingly,  for  the  next  few  weeks,  I 
used  to  accompany  the  women  on  their  root-hunting 
and  rat-catching  expeditions,  and  from  them  I  picked 
up  much  valuable  information. 

The  corroboree  was,  perhaps,  the  greatest  institution 
known  to  the  blacks,  who,  obliged  to  do  no  real  work, 
as  we  understand  it,  simply  had  to  pass  the  time  some- 
how ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  were  it  not  for 
the  constant  feuds  and  consequent  incessant  wars,  the 
race*  would  greatly  deteriorate.  The  corroboj^ee  after 
a  successful  battle  commenced  with  a  cannibal  feast 
off  the  bodies  of  fallen  foes,  and  it  would  be  kept 
up  for  several  days  on  end,  the  braves  lying  down  to 
sleep  near  the  fire  towards  morning,  and  renewing  the 
festivities  about  noon  next  day.  The  chiefs  on  these 
occasions  decked  themselves  with  gorgeous  cockatoo 
feathers,  and  painted  their  bodies  with  red  and  yellow 
ochre  and  other  glaring  pigments,  each  tribe  having  its 
own  distinguishing  marks.  A  couple  of  hours  were 
generally  spent  in  dressing  and  preparing  for  the 
ceremony,  and  then  the  gaily-decorated  fighting-men 
would  dance  or  squat  round  the  fires  and  chant 
monotonous  songs,  telling  of  all  their  own  achieve- 
ments and  valour,  and  the  extraordinary  sights  they 
had  seen  in  their  travels. 

The  words  of  the  songs  were  usually  composed  by 


102   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

the  clan's  own  poet,  who  made  a  Hving  solely  by  his 
profession,  and  even  sold  his  effusions  to  other  tribes. 
As  there  was  no  written  language  the  purchaser  would 
simply  be  coached  orally  by  the  vendor  poet ;  and  as 
the  blacks  were  gifted  with  most  marvellous  memories, 
they  would  transmit  and  resell  the  songs  throughout 


THE   FEAST 


vast  stretches  of  country.  These  men  of  the  north-west 
were  of  magnificent  stature,  and  possessed  great  per- 
sonal strength.  They  were  able  to  walk  extraordinary 
distances,  and  their  carriage  was  the  most  graceful  I 
have  ever  seen.  Many  of  them  were  over  six  feet 
high,  well  made  in  proportion  and  with  high  broad 
foreheads — altogether  a  very  different  race  from  the 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  103 

inhabitants  of  Central  Australia.  One  of  their  favourite 
tests  of  strength  was  to  take  a  short  stick  of  very  hard 
wood  and  bend  it  in  their  hands,  using  the  thumbs 
as  levers,  till  it  snapped.  Strange  to  say,  I  failed  to 
bend  the  stick  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  The 
women  are  not  very  prepossessing,  and  not  nearly  so 
graceful  in  their  bearing  and  gait  as  the  men.  Poor 
creatures !  they  did  all  the  hard  work  of  the  camp — 
building,  food-hunting,  waiting,  and  serving.  Occa- 
sionally, however,  Che  men  did  condescend  to  go  out 
fishing,  and  they  would  also  organise  battues  when 
a  big  supply  of  food  was  wanted.  These  great 
hunting-parties,  by  the  way,  were  arranged  on  an 
immense  scale,  and  fire  figured  largely  in  them.  The 
usual  routine  was  to  set  fire  to  the  bush,  and  then 
as  the  terrified  animals  and  reptiles  rushed  out  in 
thousands  into  the  open,  each  party  of  blacks  speared 
every  living  thing  that  came  its  way  within  a  certain 
sphere.  The  roar  of  the  fast-spreading  fire,  the  thou- 
sands of  kangaroos,  opossums,  rats,  snakes,  iguanas, 
and  birds  that  dashed  hither  and  thither,  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  bewildering  shouts  from  the  men  and  shrill 
screeches  from  the  women,  who  occasionally  assisted, 
flitting  hither  and  thither  like  eerie  witches  amidst  the 
dense  pall  of  black  smoke — all  these  made  up  a  picture 
which  is  indelibly  imprinted  on  my  mind. 

As  a  rule,  hosts  of  hawks  and  eagles  are  to  be 
seen  flying  over  the  black  man's  camp,  but  on  the 
occasion  of  a  bush  fire  they  follow  its  train,  well 
knowing  that  they  will  obtain  prey  in  abundance. 
With  regard  to  the  fishing  parties,  these  went  out 
either  early  in  the  morning,  soon  after  sunrise,  or  in 
the  evening,  when  it  was  quite  dark.     On  the  latter 


104  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

occasions,  the  men  carried  big  torches,  which  they  held 
high  in  the  air  with  one  hand,  while  they  waded  out 
into  the  water  with  their  spears  poised,  in  readiness  to 
impale  the  first  big  fish  they  came  across. 

When  the  spearmen  did  strike,  their  aim  was  un- 
erring, and  the  struggling  fish  would  be  hurled  on  to 
the  beach  to  the  patient  women-folk,  who  were  there 
waiting  for  them,  with  their  big  nets  of  grass  slung 
over  their  backs.  Sometimes  a  hundred  men  would 
be  in  the  shallow  water  at  once,  all  carrying  blazing 
torches,  and  the  effect  as  the  fishermen  plunged  and 
splashed  this  way  and  that,  with  shouts  of  triumph 
or  disappointment,  may  be  better  imagined  than  de- 
scribed. In  the  daytime  a  rather  different  method  was 
adopted.  Some  acres  of  the  shallow  lagoon  would  be 
staked  out  at  low  water  in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  V, 
an  opening  being  left  for  the  fish  to  pass  through. 

The  high  tide  brought  the  fish  in  vast  shoals,  and 
then  the  opening  would  be  closed.  When  the  tide 
receded,  the  staked  enclosure  became,  in  effect,  a 
gigantic  net,  filled  with  floundering  fish,  big  and  little. 
The  natives  then  waded  into  the  inclosure,  and 
leisurely  despatched  the  fish  with  their  spears. 

Nothing  was  more  interesting  than  to  watch  one  of 
these  children  of  the  bush  stalking  a  kangaroo.  The 
man  made  not  the  slightest  noise  in  walking,  and  he 
would  stealthily  follow  the  kangaroo's  track  for  miles 
(the  tracks  were  absolutely  invisible  to  the  uninitiated). 
Should  at  length  the  kangaroo  sniff  a  tainted  wind,  or 
be  startled  by  an  incautious  movement,  his  pursuer 
would  suddenly  become  as  rigid  as  a  bronze  figure, 
and  he  could  remain  in  this  position  for  hours.  Finally, 
when  within  thirty  or  forty  yards  of  the  animal,  he 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  105 

launched  his  spear,  and  in  all  the  years  I  was  among 
these  people  I  never  knew  a  man  to  miss  his  aim'. 
Two  distinct  kinds  of  spears  were  used  by  the  natives, 
one  for  hunting  and  the  other  for  war  purposes.  The 
former  averaged  from  eight  to  ten  feet,  whilst  the 
latter  varied  from  ten  to  fourteen  feet  in  length  ;  the 
blade  in  each  case,  however,  consisting  either  of  bone 
or  stone,  with  a  shaft  of  some  light  hard  wood. 
Metals  were,  of  course,  perfectly  unknown  as  workable 
materials.  The  war-spear  was  not  hurled  javelin- 
fashion  like  the  hunting-spear,  but  propelled  by  means 
of  a  wommerah,  which,  in  reality,  was  a  kind  of  sling, 
perhaps  twenty-four  inches  long,  with  a  hook  at  one 
end  to  fix  on  the  shaft  of  the  spear.  In  camp  the 
men  mainly  occupied  their  time  in  making  spears  and 
mending  their  weapons.  They  hacked  a  tree  down 
and  split  it  into  long  sections  by  means  of  wedges,  in 
order  to  get  suitable  wood  for  their  spear-shafts. 

To  catch  emus  the  hunters  would  construct  little 
shelters  of  grass  at  a  spot  overlooking  the  water- 
hole  frequented  by  these  birds,  and  they  were  then 
speared  as  they  came  down  for  water.  The  largest 
emu  I  ever  saw,  by  the  way,  was  more  than  six  feet 
high,  whilst  the  biggest  kangaroo  I  came  across  was 
even  taller  than  this.  Snakes  were  always  killed  with 
sticks,  whilst  birds  were  brought  down  with  the  won- 
derful boomerang. 

As  a  rule,  only  sufficient  food  was  obtained  to  last 
from  day  to  day  ;  but  on  the  occasion  of  one  of  the  big 
battues  I  have  described  there  would  be  food  in  abun- 
dance for  a  week  or  more,  when  there  would  be  a 
horrid  orgy  of  gorging  and  one  long  continuous  corro- 
boreCy  until  supplies  gave  out. 


io6  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

The  sport  which  I  myself  took  up  was  dugong 
hunting;  for  I  ought  to  have  mentioned  that  I  brought 
a  harpoon  with  me  in  the  boat,  and  this  most  useful 
article  attracted  as  much  attention  as  anything  I  had. 
The  natives  would  occasionally  put  their  hands  on  my 
tomahawk  or  harpoon,  and  never  ceased  to  wonder  why 
the  metal  was  so  cold. 

Whenever  I  went  out  after  dugong,  accompanied  by 
Yamba  (she  was  ever  with  me),  the  blacks  invariably 
came  down  in  crowds  to  watch  the  operation  from  the 
beach. 

But,  you  will  ask,  what  did  I  want  with  dugong, 
when  I  had  so  much  other  food  at  hand  ?  Well,  my 
idea  was  to  lay  in  a  great  store  of  dried  provisions 
against  the  time  when  I  should  be  ready  to  start  for 
civilisation  in  my  boat.  I  built  a  special  shed  of 
boughs,  in  which  I  conducted  my  curing  operations; 
my  own  living-place  being  only  a  few  yards  away.  It 
was  built  quite  in  European  fashion,  with  a  sloping 
roof.  The  interior  was  perhaps  twenty  feet  square 
and  ten  feet  high,  with  a  small  porch  in  which  my  fire 
was  kept  constantly  burning.  When  we  had  captured 
a  dugong  the  blacks  would  come  rushing  into  the 
sea  to  meet  us  and  drag  our  craft  ashore,  delighted 
at  the  prospect  of  a  great  feast.  The  only  part  of  the 
dugong  I  preserved  was  the  belly,  which  I  cut  up  into 
strips  and  dried. 

The  blacks  never  allowed  their  fires  to  go  out, 
and  whenever  they  moved  their  camping-ground,  the 
women-folk  always  took  with  them  their  smouldering 
fire-sticks,  with  which  they  can  kindle  a  blaze  in  a 
few  minutes.  Very  rarely,  indeed,  did  the  women 
allow  their  fire-sticks  to  go   out  altogether,   for  this 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  107 

would  entail  a  cruel  and  severe  punishment.  A  fire- 
stick  would  keep  alight  in  a  smouldering  state  for 
days.  All  that  the  women  did  when  they  wanted  to 
make  it  glow  was  to  whirl  it  round  in  the  air.  The 
wives  bore  ill-usage  with  the  most  extraordinary  equa- 
nimity, and  never  attempted  to  parry  even  the  most 
savage  blow.  They  would  remain  meek  and  motionless 
under  a  shower  of  brutal  blows  from  a  thick  stick,  and 
would  then  walk  quietly  away  and  treat  their  bleeding 
wounds  with  a  kind  of  earth.  No  matter  how  cruelly 
the  women  might  be  treated  by  their  husbands,  they 
hated  sympathy,  so  their  women  friends  always  left 
them  alone.  It  often  surprised  me  how  quickly  the 
blacks'  most  terrible  wounds  healed ;  and  yet  they 
were  only  treated  with  a  kind  of  cla}^  and  leaves  of 
the  wild  rose. 

I  am  here  reminded  of  the  native  doctor.  This 
functionary  was  called  a  rui,  and  he  effected  most  of 
his  cures  with  a  little  shell,  with  which  he  rubbed 
assiduously  upon  the  affected  part.  Thus  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  medical  treatment  was  a  form  of  massage, 
the  rubbing  being  done  first  in  a  downward  direction 
and  then  crosswise.  I  must  say,  however,  that  the 
blacks  were  very  rarely  troubled  with  illness,  their 
most  frequent  disorder  being  usually  the  result  of 
excessive  gorging  when  a  particularly  ample  supply 
of  food  was  forthcoming — say,  after  a  big  battue  over 
a  tribal  preserve. 

In  an  ordinary  case  of  overfeeding,  the  medicine 
man  would  rub  his  patient's  stomach  with  such  vigour 
as  often  to  draw  blood.  He  would  also  give  the 
sufferer  a  kind  of  grass  to  eat,  and  this  herb,  besides 
clearing  the  system,  also  acted  as  a  most  marvellous 


io8   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

appetiser.  The  capacity  of  some  of  my  blacks  was 
almost  beyond  belief.  One  giant  I  have  in  my  mind 
ate  a  whole  kangaroo  by  himself.  I  saw  him  do  it. 
Certainly  it  was  not  an  excessively  big  animal,  but, 
still,  it  was  a  meal  large  enough  for  three  or  four 
stalwart  men. 

In  a  case  of  fever  the  natives  resorted  to  charms  to 
drive  away  the  evil  spirit  that  was  supposed  to  be 
troubling  the  patient.  The  universal  superstition 
about  all  maladies  is  that  they  are  caused  by  the  *'  evil 
eye,"  directed  against  the  sufferer  by  some  enemy. 
Should  one  member  of  a  tribe  be  stricken  down  with 
a  disease,  his  friends  at  once  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  he  has  been  "  pointed  at  "  by  a  member  of  another 
tribe  who  owed  him  a  grudge ;  he  has,  in  short,  been 
bewitched,  and  an  expedition  is  promptly  organised  to 
seek  out  and  punish  the  individual  in  question  and  all 
his  tribe.  From  this  it  is  obvious  that  war  is  of  pretty 
frequent  occurrence.  And  not  only  so,  but  every 
death  is  likewise  the  signal  for  a  tribal  war.  There  is 
no  verdict  of  **  Death  from  natural  causes."  Punitive 
expeditions  are  not  organised  in  the  event  of  slight 
fevers  or  even  serious  illness — only  when  the  patient 
dies.  A  tribe  I  once  came  across  some  miles  inland 
were  visited  by  a  plague  of  what  I  now  feel  sure  must 
have  been  smallpox.  The  disease,  they  said,  had 
been  brought  down  from  the  coast,  and  although 
numbers  of  the  blacks  died,  war  was  not  declared 
against  any  particular  tribe.  As  a  rule,  the  body  of 
the  dead  brave  is  placed  upon  a  platform  erected  in 
the  forks  of  trees,  and  his  weapons  neatly  arranged 
below.  Then,  as  decay  set  in,  and  the  body  began  to 
crumble  away,  the  friends  and  chiefs  would  come  and 


THE  ENGAGEMENT  BECAME  GENERAL 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  iii 

observe  certain  mystic  signs,  which  were  supposed  to 
give  information  as  to  what  tribe  or  individual  had 
caused  the  death  of  the  deceased. 

It  must  have  been  within  a  month  of  my  landing  on 
Yamba's  country,  in  Cambridge  Gulf,  that  I  witnessed 
my  first  cannibal  feast.  One  of  the  fighting-men  had 
died  in  our  camp,  and  after  the  usual  observations  had 
been  taken,  it  was  decided  that  he  had  been  pointed 
at,  and  his  death  brought  about,  by  a  member  of 
another  tribe  living  some  distance  away.  An  expedi- 
tion of  some  hundreds  of  warriors  was  at  once  fitted 
out.  The  enemy  was  apparently  only  too  ready  for 
the  fray,  because  the  armies  promptly  met  in  an 
open  plain,  and  I  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing 
the  extraordinary  method  by  which  the  Australian 
blacks  wage  war.  One  of  the  most  redoubtable  of  our 
chiefs  stepped  forward,  and  explained  the  reason  of  his 
people's  visit  in  comparatively  calm  tones.  An  opposing 
chief  replied  to  him,  and  gradually  a  heated  altercation 
arose,  the  abuse  rising  on  a  crescendo  scale  for  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes.  These  two  then  retired,  and  another 
couple  of  champion  abusers  stepped  forward  to  "  dis- 
cuss "  the  matter.  This  kind  of  thing  went  on  for  a 
considerable  time,  the  abuse  being  of  the  most  appal- 
ling description,  and  directed  mainly  against  the  organs 
of  the  enemy's  body  (heart,  liver,  &c.),  his  ancestors, 
"his  ox,  his  ass,  and  everything  that  was  his."  At 
length,  when  every  conceivable  thing  had  been  said 
that  it  was  possible  to  say,  the  warriors  drew  near, 
and  at  last  some  one  threw  a  spear.  This,  of  course, 
was  the  signal  for  real  action,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the 
engagement  became  general.  There  was  no  strategy  or 
tactics  of  any  kind,  every  man  fighting  single-handed. 


112  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

But  to  return  to  the  battle  I  was  describing.  After 
a  very  few  minutes'  fighting  the  enemy  were  utterly 
routed,  and  promptly  turned  tail  and  fled  from  the 
scene  of  the  encounter,  leaving  behind  them — after  all 
the  uproar  and  the  flood  of  vilification — only  three  of 
their  warriors,  and  these  not  dead,  but  only  more  or 
less  badly  wounded.  Quarter  being  neither  given  nor 
expected  in  these  battles,  the  three  prostrate  blacks 
were  promptly  despatched  by  the  leader  of  my  tribe, 
the  coup  de  grace  being  given  with  a  waddy,  or 
knobbed  stick.  The  three  bodies  were  then  placed  on 
litters  made  out  of  spears  and  grass,  and  in  due  time 
carried  into  our  own  camp. 

There  were  so  many  unmistakable  signs  to  presage 
what  was  coming  that  I  knew  a  cannibal  feast  was 
about  to  take  place.  But  for  obvious  reasons  I  did  not 
protest  against  it,  nor  did  I  take  any  notice  whatever. 
The  women  (who  do  all  the  real  work)  fell  on  their 
knees,  and  with  their  fingers  scraped  three  long  trenches 
in  the  sand,  each  about  seven  feet  long  and  three  deep. 
Into  each  of  these  ovens  was  placed  one  of  the  bodies 
of  the  fallen  warriors,  and  then  the  trench  was  filled  up 
— firstly  with  stones,  and  then  with  sand.  On  top  of 
all  a  huge  fire  was  built,  and  maintained  with  great 
fierceness  for  about  two  hours.  There  was  great 
rejoicing  during  this  period  of  cooking,  and  apparently 
much  pleasurable  anticipation  among  the  triumphant 
blacks.  In  due  time  the  signal  was  given,  and  the 
ovens  laid  open  once  more.  I  looked  in  and  saw  that 
the  bodies  were  very  much  burnt.  The  skin  was 
cracked  in  places  and  liquid  fat  was  issuing  forth.  .  .  . 
But,  perhaps,  the  less  said  about  this  horrible  spectacle 
the  better.     With  a  yell,  several  warriors  leaped  into 


AS   TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  113 

each  trench  and  stuck  spears  through  the  big  ''joints." 
And  the  moment  the  roasted  carcasses  were  taken  out 
of  the  trenches  the  whole  tribe  literally  fell  upon  them 
and  tore  them  limb  from  limb.  I  saw  mothers  with 
a  leg  or  an  arm  surrounded  by  plaintive  children, 
who  were  crying  for  their  portion  of  the  fearsome 
dainty. 

Others,  who  were  considered  to  have  taken  more 
than  their  share,  were  likewise  fallen  upon  and 
their  ''joint"  subdivided  and  hacked  to  pieces  with 
knives  made  from  shells.  The  bodies  were  not 
cooked  all  through,  so  that  the  condition  of  some 
of  the  revellers,  both  during  and  after  the  orgy, 
may  best  be  left  to  the  imagination.  A  more  ap- 
palling, more  ghastly,  or  more  truly  sickening 
spectacle  it  is  impossible  for  the  mind  of  man  to 
conceive.  A  great  corroboree  was  held  after  the 
feast,  but,  with  my  gorge  rising  and  my  brain  reel- 
ing, I  crept  to  my  own  humpy  and  tried  to  shut 
out  from  my  mind  the  shocking  inferno  I  had  just 
been  compelled  to  witness. 

But  let  us  leave  so  fearful  a  subject  and  consider 
something  more  interesting  and  amusing. 


CHAPTER   VI 

A  weird  duel — The  tragedy  of  the  baby  whale — My  boat  is  destroyed 
— A  ten  miles'  swim — Gigantic  prizes — Swimming  in  the  whale's 
.  head — I  make  use  of  the  visitors — A  fight  with  an  alligator — 
The  old  craving — Bitter  disappointment — My  mysterious  "flying 
spears  " — Dog-like  fidelity — I  present  my  "  card  " — The  desert  of 
red  sand. 

THE  women  of  the  tribe  lived  amicably  enough 
together  as  a  rule,  but  of  course  they  had  their 
differences.  They  would  quarrel  about  the  merits 
and  demerits  of  their  own  families  and  countries;  but 
the  greatest  source  of  heartburning  and  trouble  was 
the  importation  of  a  new  wife  —  especially  if  she 
chanced  to  be  better  looking  than  the  others.  In  such 
cases,  woe  to  the  comparatively  pretty  wife.  The 
women  certainly  had  a  novel  way  of  settling  their 
differences.  The  two  combatants  would  retire  to  some 
little  distance,  armed  with  one  stick  between  tkein.  They 
would  then  stand  face  to  face,  and  one  would  bend 
forward  meekly,  whilst  the  other  dealt  her  a  truly 
terrific  blow  between  the  shoulders  or  on  the  head — 
not  with  a  cane  or  a  light  stick,  be  it  remembered, 
but  a  really  formidable  club.  The  blow  (which  would 
be  enough  to  kill  an  ordinary  white  woman)  would  be 
borne  with  wonderful  fortitude,  and  then  the  aggressor 
would  hand  the  club  to  the  woman  she  had  just  struck. 
The   latter   would    then    take    a    turn ;   and   so   it 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 


'•5 


would  go  on,  turn  and  turn  about,  until  one  of  the 
unfortunate,  stoical  creatures  fell  bleeding  and  half- 
senseless  to  the  earth.  The  thing  was  magnificently 
simple.  The  woman 
who  kept  her  senses 
longest,  and  remained 
on  her  legs  to  the  end, 


SETTLING   A   QUARREL 


was  the  victor.  There  was  no  kind  of  ill-feeling  after 
these  extraordinary  combats,  and  the  women  would 
even  dress  one  another's  wounds. 


ii6  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

I  now  come  to  an  event  of  very  great  importance 
in  my  life.  Elsewhere  I  have  spoken  oi  vsxy  penchant 
for  dugong  hunting.  Well,  one  day  this  sport  effec- 
tually put  an  end  to  all  my  prospects  of  reaching 
civilisation  across  the  sea.  I  went  forth  one  morning, 
accompanied  by  my  ever-faithful  Yamba  and  the 
usual  admiring  crowd  of  blacks.  In  a  few  minutes 
we  two  were  speeding  over  the  sunlit  waters,  my 
only  weapon  being  the  steel  harpoon  I  had  brought 
with  me  from  the  island,  and  about  forty  or  fifty 
feet  of  manilla  rope.  When  we  were  some  miles  from 
land  I  noticed  a  dark-looking  object  on  the  surface 
of  the  water  a  little  way  ahead.  Feeling  certain  it 
was  a  dugong  feeding  on  the  well-known  ''grass,"  I 
rose  and  hurled  my  harpoon  at  it  with  all  the  force 
I  could  muster.  Next  moment,  to  my  amazement, 
the  head  of  a  calf  whale  was  thrust  agonisingly  into 
the  air,  and  not  until  then  did  I  realise  what  manner 
of  creature  it  was  I  had  struck.  This  baby  whale  was 
about  fifteen  feet  long,  and  it  '*  sounded  "  immediately 
on  receiving  my  harpoon.  As  I  had  enough  rope,  or 
what  I  considered  enough,  I  did  not  cut  him  adrift. 
He  came  up  again  presently,  lashing  the  water  with 
his  tail,  and  creating  a  tremendous  uproar,  consider- 
ing his  size.  He  then  darted  off  madly,  dashing 
through  the  water  like  an  arrow,  and  dragging  our 
boat  at  such  a  tremendous  pace  as  almost  to  swamp 
us  in  the  foaming  wash,  the  bow  wave  forming  a 
kind  of  wall  on  each  side. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  no  thought  of  danger,  but 
just  as  the  baby  whale  halted  I  looked  round,  and 
saw  to  my  horror  that  its  colossal  mother  had  joined 
her  offspring,   and   was    swimming  round  and  round 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  117 

it  like  lighitning,  apparently  greatly  disturbed  by  its  suf- 
ferings. Before  I  could  even  cut  the  line  or  attempt 
to  get  out  of  the  way,  the  enormous  creature  caught 
sight  of  our  little  craft,  and  bore  down  upon  us  like 
a  fair-sized  island  rushing  through  the  sea  with  the 
speed  of  an  express  train.  I  shouted  to  Yamba, 
and  we  both  threw  ourselves  over  the  side  into  the 
now  raging  waters,  and  commenced  to  swim  away 
with  long  strokes,  in  order  to  get  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  boat  before  the  catastrophe  came  which  we 
knew  was  at  hand.  We  had  not  got  many  yards 
before  I  heard  a  terrific  crash,  and,  looking  back,  I 
saw  the  enormous  tail  of  the  great  whale  towering 
high  out  of  the  water,  and  my  precious  boat  descend- 
ing in  fragments  upon  it  from  a  height  of  from  fifteen 
feet  to  twenty  feet  above  the  agitated  waters.  Oddly 
enough,  the  fore-part  of  the  boat  remained  fixed  to 
the  rope  of  the  harpoon  in  the  calf.  My  first 
thought,  even  at  so  terrible  a  moment,  and  in  so 
serious  a  situation,  was  one  of  bitter  regret  for  the 
loss  of  what  I  considered  the  only  means  of  reach- 
ing civilisation.  Like  a  flash  it  came  back  to  me 
how  many  weary  months  of  toil  and  hope  and  ex- 
pectancy I  had  spent  over  that  darling  craft;  and 
I  remembered,  too,  the  delirious  joy  of  launching  it, 
and  the  appalling  dismay  that  struck  me  when  I 
realised  that  it  was  worse  than  useless  to  me  in 
the  inclosed  lagoon.  These  thoughts  passed  through 
my  mind  in  a  few  seconds. 

At  this  time  we  had  a  swim  of  some  ten  miles  before 
us,  but  fortunately  our  predicament  was  observed  from 
the  land,  and  a  crowd  of  blacks  put  out  in  their 
catamarans  to  help  us.    Some  of  the  blacks,  as  I  hinted 


Ii8   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

before,  always  accompanied  me  down  to  the  shore  on 
these  trips.  They  never  tired,  I  think,  of  seeing  me 
handle  my  giant  "  catamaran "  and  the  (to  them) 
mysterious  harpoon. 

After  the  mother  whale  had  wreaked  its  vengeance 
upon  my  unfortunate  boat  it  rejoined  its  little  one, 
and  still  continued  to  swim  round  and  round  it  at 
prodigious  speed,  evidently  in  a  perfect  agony  of  con- 
cern. Fortunately  the  tide  was  in  our  favour,  and  we 
were  rapidly  swept  inshore,  even  when  we  floated 
listlessly  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  sea  was 
quite  calm,  and  we  had  no  fear  of  sharks,  being  well 
aware  that  we  would  keep  them  away  by  splashing  in 
the  water. 

Before  long,  the  catamarans  came  up  with  us,  but 
although  deeply  grateful  for  Yamba's  and  my  own 
safety,  I  was  still  greatly  distressed  at  the  loss  of 
my  boat.  Never  once  did  this  thought  leave  my 
mind.  I  remembered,  too,  with  a  pang,  that  I  had 
now  no  tools  with  which  to  build  another;  and  to 
venture  out  into  the  open  sea  on  a  catamaran,  probably 
for  weeks,  simply  meant  courting  certain  destruction. 
I  was  a  greater  prisoner  than  ever. 

My  harpoon  had  evidently  inflicted  a  mortal  wound 
on  the  calf  whale,  because  as  we  looked  we  saw  it 
lying  exhausted  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
being  gradually  swept  nearer  and  nearer  the  shore 
by  the  swift-flowing  tide.  The  mother  refused  to 
leave  her  little  one  however,  and  still  continued  to 
wheel  round  it  continuously,  even  when  it  had  reached 
dangerously  shallow  water. 

The  result  was  that  when  the  tide  turned,  both  the 
mother  and  her  calf  were  left  stranded  high  and  dry 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  119 

on  the  beach,  to  the  unbounded  delight  and  amaze- 
ment of  the  natives,  who  swarmed  round  the  leviathans, 
and  set  up  such  a  terrific  uproar,  that  I  verily  believe 
they  frightened  the  mother  to  death.  In  her  dying 
struggle  she  lashed  the  water  into  a  perfect  fury  with 
her  tail,  and  even  made  attempts  to  lift  herself  bodily 
up.  Furious  smoke- signals  were  at  once  sent  up  to 
summon  all  the  tribes  in  the  surrounding  country — 
enemies  as  well  as  friends.  Next  day  the  carcasses 
were  washed  farther  still  inshore — a  thing  for  which 
the  blacks  gave  me  additional  credit. 

I  ought  to  mention  here  that  the  loss  of  my  boat 
was  in  some  measure  compensated  for  by  the  enormous 
amount  of  prestige  which  accrued  to  me  through  this 
whale  episode.  To  cut  a  long  story  short,  the  natives 
fully  beheved  that  /  had  killed  single-handed  and 
brought  ashore  both  whales  !  And  in  the  corroborees 
that  ensued,  the  poets  almost  went  deHrious  in  trying 
to  find  suitable  eulogiums  to  bestow  upon  the  mighty 
white  hunter.  The  mother  whale  surpassed  in  size 
any  I  had  ever  seen  or  read  about.  I  measured  her 
length  by  pacing,  and  I  judged  it  to  be  nearly  150  feet. 
My  measurements  may  not  have  been  absolutely  ac- 
curate, but  still  the  whale  was,  I  imagine,  of  record 
size.  As  she  lay  there  on  the  beach  her  head  towered 
above  me  to  a  height  of  nearly  fifteen  feet.  Never 
can  I  forget  the  scene  that  followed,  when  the  blacks 
from  the  surrounding  country  responded  to  the  smoke- 
signals  announcing  the  capture  of  the  ^*  great  fish." 
From  hundreds  of  miles  south  came  the  natives, 
literally  in  their  thousands — every  man  provided  with 
his  stone  tomahawk  and  a  whole  armoury  of  shell 
knives.      They   simply   swarmed    over  the   carcasses 


I20  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

like  vermin,  and  I  saw  many  of  them  staggering 
away  under  solid  lumps  of  flesh  weighing  between 
thirty  and  forty  pounds.  The  children  also  took 
part  in  the  general  feasting,  and  they  too  swarmed 
about  the  whales  like  a  plague  of  ants. 

A  particularly  enterprising  party  of  blacks  cut  an 
enormous  hole  in  the  head  of  the  big  whale,  and  in 
the  bath  of  oil  that  was  inside  they  simply  wallowed 
for  hours  at  a  time,  only  to  emerge  in  a  condition  that 
filled  me  with  disgust.  There  was  no  question  of 
priority  or  disputing  as  to  whom  the  tit-bits  of  the 
whale  should  go.  Even  the  visitors  were  quite  at 
liberty  to  take  whatever  portion  they  could  secure. 
For  about  a  fortnight  this  cutting-up  and  gorging  went 
on,  but  long  before  this  the  stench  from  the  decompos- 
ing carcasses  was  so  horrible  as  to  be  painfully  notice- 
able at  my  camp,  over  a  mile  away.  Some  of  the  flesh 
was  cooked,  but  most  of  it  was  eaten  absolutely  raw. 
The  spectacle  witnessed  on  the  beach  would  have 
been  intensely  comical  were  it  not  so  revolting.  Many 
of  the  savages,  both  men  and  women,  had  gorged 
themselves  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  absolutely  un- 
able to  walk  ;  and  they  rolled  about  on  the  sand,  tearing 
at  the  ground  in  agony,  their  stomachs  distended  in 
the  most  extraordinary  and  disgusting  manner.  It 
may  amuse  you  to  know  that  smoke-signals  were  at 
once  sent  up  for  all  the  "  doctors  "  in  the  country,  and 
these  ministering  angels  could  presently  be  seen  with 
their  massage  shells,  rubbing  the  distended  stomachs 
of  the  sufferers  as  they  lay  on  the  beach.  I  saw  some 
men  fairly  howling  with  agorly,  but  yet  still  devouring 
enormous  quantities  of  oil  and  blubber !  Besides  the 
massage  treatment  (with  the  thumbs  as  well  as  shells), 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  121 

the  "  doctors "  administered  a  kind  of  pill,  or  pellet, 
of  some  green  leaf,  which  they  first  chewed  in  their 
own  mouth  and  then  placed  in  that  of  the  patient.  So 
magical  was  this  potent  herb  in  its  action,  that  I  feel 
sure  it  would  make  the  fortune  of  an  enterprising  syn- 
dicate. Other  patients,  who  had  obtained  temporary 
relief  through  the  kind  offices  of  the  medicine-men, 
returned  to  the  whales  again,  and  had  another 
enormous  gorge.  In  fact,  the  blacks  behaved  more 
like  wild  beasts  of  the  lowest  order  than  men,  and  in 
a  very  short  time — considering  the  enormous  bulk  of 
the  whales — nothing  remained  except  the  immense 
bones. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  orgie  had  its  uses  from  my 
point  of  view,  because  I  took  advantage  of  the  arrival 
of  so  many  strange  tribes  to  make  myself  acquainted 
with  their  chiefs,  their  languages,  and  their  manners 
and  customs,  in  the  hope  that  these  people  might  be 
useful  to  me  some  day  when  I  commenced  my  journey 
overland  to  civilisation. .  For,  of  course,  all  hope  of 
escape  by  sea  had  now  to  be  abandoned,  since  my 
boat  was  destroyed.  Several  days  elapsed,  however, 
before  I  was  able  to  remain  in  their  presence  without 
a  feeling  of  utter  disgust.  To  be  precise,  I  could 
not  talk  to  them  before  they  ate,  because  they  were 
so  anxious  to  get  at  the  food ;  and  after  the  feast  they 
were  too  gorged  with  fat  to  be  able  to  talk  rationally. 
In  all  my  wanderings  amongst  the  blacks  I  never  came 
across  anything  that  interested  them  so  much  as  a 
whale. 

Soon  after  the  loss  of  the  boat,  Yamba  made  me 
a  small  bark  canoe  about  fifteen  feet  long,  but 
not  more  than  fourteen  inches  wide,  and  in  this  we 


122   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

undertook  various  little  excursions  together  to  the 
various  islands  that  studded  the  bay.  The  construc- 
tion of  this  little  canoe  was  very  interesting.  Yamba, 
first  of  all,  heated  the  bark,  and  then  turned  the  rough 
part  underneath  in  order  that  the  interior  might  be 
perfectly  smooth.  She  then  sewed  up  the  ends,  finally 
giving  the  little  craft  a  coat  of  resin,  obtained  by 
making  incisions  in  the  gum-trees.  Of  course,  I 
missed  my  own  substantial  boat,  and  it  was  some 
little  time  before  I  grew  accustomed  to  the  frail  canoe, 
which  necessitated  the  greatest  possible  care  in  hand- 
ling, and  also  on  the  part  of  the  passengers  generally. 

One  day  I  decided  to  go  and  explore  one  of  the 
islands  that  studded  Cambridge  Gulf,  in  search  of  a 
kind  of  shell  mud-fish  which  I  was  very  partial  to.  I 
also  wanted  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  bats  or 
flying  foxes  I  had  seen  rising  in  clouds  every  evening 
at  sunset.  I  required  the  skins  of  these  curious  crea- 
tures for  sandals.  This  would  perhaps  be  a  year  after 
my  advent  amongst  the  blacks.  As  usual,  Yamba  was 
my  only  companion,  and  we  soon  reached  a  likely 
island.  As  I  could  find  no  suitable  place  for  landing, 
I  turned  the  canoe  up  a  small  creek.  From  this 
course,  however,  my  companion  strongly  dissuaded 
me.  Into  the  creek,  nevertheless,  we  went,  and 
when  I  saw  it  was  a  hopeless  impasse^  I  scrambled 
ashore  and  waded  through  five  inches  or  six  inches 
of  mud.  The  little  island  was  densely  covered  with 
luxuriant  tropical  vegetation,  the  mangroves  coming 
right  down  to  the  water's  edge ;  so  that  I  had  actually 
to  force  my  way  through  them  to  gain  the  top  of  the 
bank.  I  then  entered  a  very  narrow  track  through 
the  forest,  the  bush  on  both  sides  being  so  dense  as  to 


AS   TOLD   BY    HIMSELF  123 

resemble  an  impenetrable  wall  or  dense  hedge.  It  is 
necessary  to  bear  this  in  mind  to  realise  what  followed. 
I  had  not  gone  many  yards  along  this  track,  when  I 
was  horrified  to  see,  right  in  front  of  me,  an  enormous 
alligator  !  This  great  reptile  was  shufQing  along  down 
the  path  towards  me,  evidently  making  for  the  water, 
and  it  not  only  blocked  my  advance,  but  also  necessi- 
tated my  immediate  retreat.  The  moment  the  brute 
caught  sight  of  me  he  stopped,  and  began  snapping  his 
jaws  viciously.  I  confess  I  was  quite  nonplussed  for  the 
moment  as  to  how  best  to  commence  the  attack  upon 
this  unexpected  visitor.  It  was  impossible  for  me  to 
get  round  him  in  any  way,  on  account  of  the  dense 
bush  on  either  side  of  the  narrow  forest  track.  I 
decided,  however,  to  make  a  bold  dash  for  victory, 
having  always  in  mind  the  prestige  that  was  so  neces- 
sary to  my  existence  among  the  blacks.  I  therefore 
walked  straight  up  to  the  evil-looking  monster  ;  then, 
taking  a  short  run,  I  leaped  high  into  the  air,  shot  over 
his  head,  and  landed  on  his  scaly  back,  at  the  same 
time  giving  a  tremendous  yell  in  order  to  attract 
Yamba,  whom  I  had  left  in  charge  of  the  boat. 

The  moment  I  landed  on  his  back  I  struck  the  alli- 
gator with  all  my  force  with  my  tomahawk,  on  what 
I  considered  the  most  vulnerable  part  of  his  head.  So 
powerful  was  my  stroke,  that  I  found  to  my  dismay 
that  I  could  not  get  the  weapon  out  of  his  head  again. 
While  I  was  in  this  extraordinary  situation — standing 
on  the  back  of  an  enormous  alligator,  and  tugging  at 
my  tomahawk,  embedded  in  its  head — Yamba  came 
rushing  up  the  path,  carrying  one  of  the  paddles, 
which,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  she  thrust  down 
the  alligator's  throat  as  he  turned  to  snap  at  her.     She 


124  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

immediately  let  go  her  hold  and  retreated.  The 
alligator  tried  to  follow  her,  but  the  shaft  of  the 
paddle  caught  among  some  tree  trunks  and  stuck.  In 
this  wa}^  the  monster  was  prevented  from  moving  his 
head,  either  backwards  or  forwards,  and  then,  drawing 
my  stiletto,  I  blinded  him  in  both  eyes,  afterwards  finish- 
ing him  leisurely  with  my  tomahawk,  when  at  length  I 
managed  to  release  it.  Yamba  was  immensely  proud 
of  me  after  this  achievement,  and  when  we  returned 
to  the  mainland  she  gave  her  tribesmen  a  graphic 
account  of  my  gallantry  and  bravery.  But  she  always 
did  this.  She  was  my  advance  agent  and  bill-poster, 
so  to  say.  I  found  in  going  into  a  new  country  that 
my  fame  had  preceded  me ;  and  I  must  say  this  was 
most  convenient  and  useful  in  obtaining  hospitality, 
concessions,  and  assistance  generally.  The  part  I  had 
played  in  connection  with  the  death  of  the  two  whales 
had  already  earned  for  me  the  admiration  of  the  blacks 
— not  only  in  my  own  tribe,  but  all  over  the  adjacent 
country.  And  after  this  encounter  with  the  alligator 
they  looked  upon  me  as  a  very  great  and  powerful 
personage  indeed.  We  did  not  bring  the  dead  monster 
back  with  us,  but  next  day  a  number  of  the  blacks 
went  over  with  their  catamarans,  and  towed  the  reptile 
back  to  the  mainland,  where  it  was  viewed  with  open- 
mouthed  amazement  by  crowds  of  admiring  natives. 
So  great  was  the  estimation  in  which  my  prowess  was 
held,  that  little  scraps  of  the  dead  alligator  were  dis- 
tributed (as  relics,  presumably)  among  the  tribes 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  surrounding  country. 
Singularly  enough  this  last  achievement  of  mine  was 
considered  much  more  commendable  than  the  killing 
of  the  whale,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  sometimes 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  125 

happened  they  caught  a  whale  themselves  stranded 
on  the  beach ;  whereas  the  killing  of  an  alligator  with 
their  primitive  weapons  was  a  feat  never  attempted. 
They  chanted  praises  in  my  honour  at  night,  and 
wherever  I  moved,  my  performances  with  the  whales 
and  alligator  were  always  the  first  things  to  be  sung. 
Nor  did  I  attempt  to  depreciate  my  achievements ;  on 
the  contrary,  I  exaggerated  the  facts  as  much  as  I  pos- 
sibly could.  I  described  to  them  how  I  had  fought  and 
killed  the  whale  with  my  stiletto  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  monster  had  smashed  my  boat.  I  told  them 
that  I  was  not  afraid  of  facing  anything  single-handed, 
and  I  even  went  so  far  as  to  allege  that  I  was  good 
enough  to  go  out  against  a  nation  !  My  whole  object 
was  to  impress  these  people  with  my  imaginary  great- 
ness, and  I  constantly  made  them  marvel  at  my  prowess 
with  the  bow  and  arrow.  The  fact  of  my  being  able 
to  bring  down  a  bird  on  the  wing  was  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  a  miracle  to  them.  I  was  given  the 
name  of  ''Winnimah"  by  these  people,  because  my 
arrows  sped  like  lightning.  Six  of  the  alligator's  teeth 
I  took  for  myself,  and  made  them  into  a  circlet  which 
I  wore  round  my  head. 

Some  little  time  after  this  incident  I  decided  to 
remove  my  dwelling-place  to  the  top  of  a  headland 
on  the  other  side  of  the  bay,  some  twenty  miles  away, 
where  I  thought  I  could  more  readily  discern  any  sail 
passing  by  out  at  sea.  The  blacks  themselves,  who 
were  well  aware  of  my  hopes  of  getting  back  to  my 
own  people,  had  themselves  suggested  that  I  might 
find  this  a  more  likely  place  for  the  purpose  than  the 
low-lying  coast  on  which  their  tribe  was  then  en- 
camped.    They  also  pointed  out  to  me,  however,  that 


126  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

I  should  find  it  cold  living  in  so  exposed  a  position. 
But  the  hope  of  seeing  passing  sails  decided  me,  and 
one  morning  I  took  my  departure,  the  whole  nation 
of  blacks  coming  out  in  full  force  to  bid  us  adieu. 
I  think  the  last  thing  they  impressed  upon  me,  in 
their  peculiar  native  way,  was  that  they  would  always 
be  delighted  and  honoured  to  welcome  me  back  among 
them.  Yamba,  of  course,  accompanied  me,  as  also 
did  my  dog,  and  we  were  escorted  across  the  bay  by 
a  host  of  my  native  friends  in  their  catamarans.  I 
pitched  upon  a  fine  bold  spot  for  our  dwelling-place, 
but  the  blacks  assured  me  that  we  would  find  it  un- 
comfortably cold  and  windy,  to  say  nothing  about 
the  loneliness,  which  I  could  not  but  feel  after  so 
much  intercourse  with  the  friendly  natives.  I  per- 
sisted, however,  and  we  at  length  pitched  our  encamp- 
ment on  the  bleak  headland,  which  I  now  know  to 
be  Cape  Londonderry,  the  highest  northern  point  of 
Western  Australia.  Occasionally  some  of  our  black 
friends  would  pay  us  a  visit,  but  we  could  never  induce 
them  to  locate  their  village  near  us. 

Day  after  day,  day  after  day,  I  gazed  wistfully  over 
the  sea  for  hours  at  a  time,  without  ever  seeing  a  sail, 
and  at  last  I  began  to  grow  somewhat  despondent, 
and  sighed  for  the  companionship  of  my  black  friends 
once  more.  Yamba  was  unremitting  in  her  endeavours 
to  make  life  pleasant  for  me  and  keep  me  well  supplied 
with  the  best  of  food ;  but  I  could  see  that  she,  too,  did 
not  like  living  on  this  exposed  and  desolate  spot.  So, 
after  a  few  weeks'  experience  of  life  there,  I  decided 
to  return  to  ni}^  bay  home,  and  later  on  make  pre- 
parations for  a  journey  overland  to  a  point  on  the 
Australian  coast,  where  I  learned  ships  quite  frequently 


AS   TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  127 

passed.  The  point  in  question  was  Somerset  Point,  at 
the  extreme  north  of  the  Cape  York  peninsula ;  and  I 
had  learnt  of  its  existence  from  Jensen  when  we  were 
pearl-fishing.  The  blacks  were  delighted  to  see  me 
on  my  return,  and  I  remained  with  them  several 
months  before  attempting  my  next  journey.  They 
were  keenly  anxious  that  I  should  join  them  in  their 
fighting  expeditions,  but  1  always  declined,  on  the 
ground  that  I  was  not  a  fighting  man.  The  fact  of  the 
matter  was,  that  I  could  never  hope  to  throw  a  spear 
with  anything  like  the  dexterity  they  themselves  pos- 
sessed ;  and  as  spears  were  the  principal  weapons  used 
in  warfare,  I  was  afraid  I  would  not  show  up  well  at 
a  critical  moment.  Moreover,  the  warriors  defended 
themselves  so  dexterously  with  shields  as  to  be  all  but 
invulnerable,  whereas  I  had  not  the  shghtest  idea  of 
how  to  handle  a  shield.  And  for  the  sake  of  my 
ever -indispensable  prestige,  1  could  not  afford  to 
make  myself  ridiculous  in  their  eyes.  I  always  took 
good  care  to  let  the  blacks  see  me  performing  only 
those  feats  which  I  felt  morally  certain  I  could  accom- 
plish, and  accomplish  to  their  amazement. 

So  far  I  had  won  laurels  enough  with  my  mysterious 
arrows  or  **  flying  spears,"  as  the  natives  considered 
them,  and  my  prowess  with  the  harpoon  and  toma- 
hawk was  sung  in  many  tribes.  And  not  the  least 
awkward  thing  about  my  position  was  that  I  dared  not 
even  attempt  a  little  quiet  practice  in  spear-throwing, 
for  fear  the  blacks  should  come  upon  me  suddenly, 
when  I  would  most  certainly  lose  caste.  I  had  several 
narrow  escapes  from  this  serious  calamity,  but  most  of 
them  cannot  be  published  here.  I  must  tell  you,  though, 
that  the  blacks,  when  drinking  at  a  river  or  water-hole, 


128   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

invariably  scoop  up  the  water  with  their  hands,  and 
never  put  their  mouths  right  down  close  to  the  surface 
of  the  water.  Well,  one  day  I  was  guilty  of  this 
solecism.     I  had  been  out  on  a  hunting  expedition,  and 


BURNING  THIRST 


reached  the  water-hole  with  an  intense  burning  thirst. 
My  mentor  was  not  with  me.  I  fell  on  my  knees  and 
fairly  buried  my  face  in  the  life-giving  fluid.  Suddenly 
I  heard  murmurs  behind  me.  I  turned  presently  and 
saw  a  party  of  my  blacks  regarding  me  with  horror. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  129 

They  said  I  drank  like  a  kangaroo.  But  Yamba  soon 
came  to  the  rescue,  and  explained  away  the  dreadful 
breach  of  etiquette,  by  telling  them  that  I  was  not 
drinking,  but  simply  cooling  my  face;  when  we  were 
alone  she  solemnly  cautioned  me  never  to  do  it 
again. 

The  months  passed  slowly  away,  and  I  was  still 
living  the  same  monotonous  life  among  my  blacks — 
accompanying  them  upon  their  hunting  expeditions, 
joining  in  their  sports,  and  making  periodical  trips 
inland  with  Yamba,  in  preparation  for  the  great  journey 
I  proposed  to  make  overland  to  Cape  York.  When  I 
spoke  to  my  devoted  companion  about  my  plans,  she 
told  me  she  was  ready  to  accompany  me  wherever  I 
went — to  leave  her  people  and  to  be  for  ever  by  my 
side.  Right  well  I  knew  that  she  would  unhesitatingly 
do  these  things.  Her  dog-like  fidelity  to  me  never 
wavered,  and  I  know  she  would  have  laid  down  her 
life  for  me  at  any  time. 

Often  I  told  her  of  my  own  home  beyond  the 
seas,  and  when  I  asked  her  whether  she  would  come 
with  me,  she  would  reply,  ^*  Your  people  are  my  people, 
and  your  God  (spirit)  my  God."  I  will  go  with  you 
wherever  you  take  me." 

At  length  everything  was  ready,  and  I  paid  a  final 
farewell,  as  I  thought,  to  my  black  friends  in  Cambridge 
Gulf,  after  a  Httle  over  eighteen  months'  residence 
among  them.  They  knew  I  was  venturing  on  a  long 
journey  overland  to  another  part  of  the  country 
many  moons  distant,  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  get 
into  touch  with  my  own  people ;  and  though  they 
realised  they  should  never  see  me  again,  they  thought 
my  departure  a  very  natural  thing.     The  night  before 

I 


I30  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

we  left,  a  great  corroboree  was  held  in  my  honour. 
We  had  a  very  affectionate  leave-taking,  and  a  body  of 
the  natives  escorted  us  for  the  first  loo  miles  or  so  of 
our  trip.  At  last,  however,  Yamba,  myself,  and  the 
faithful  dog  were  left  to  continue  our  wanderings  alone. 
The  reliance. I  placed  upon  this  woman  by  the  way 
was  absolute  and  unquestioning.  I  knew  that  alone  I 
could  not  live  a  day  in  the  awful  wilderness  through 
which  we  were  to  pass ;  nor  could  any  soHtary  white 
man.  By  this  time,  however,  I  had  had  innumerable 
demonstrations  of  Yamba's  almost  miraculous  powers 
in  the  way  of  providing  food  and  water  when,  to  the 
ordinary  eye,  neither  was  forthcoming.  I  should  have 
mentioned  that  before  leaving  my  black  people  I 
had  provided  myself  with  what  I  may  term  a  native 
passport — a  kind  of  Masonic  mystic  stick,  inscribed 
with  certain  cabalistic  characters.  Every  chief  carried 
one  of  these  sticks.  I  carried  mine  in  my  long, 
luxuriant  hair,  which  I  wore  '^  bun  "  fashion,  held  in  a 
net  of  opossum  hair.  This  passport  stick  proved 
invaluable  as  a  means  of  putting  us  on  good  terms 
with  the  different  tribes  we  encountered.  The  chiefs 
of  the  blacks  never  ventured  out  of  their  own  country 
without  one  of  these  mysterious  sticks,  neither  did  the 
native  message-bearers.  I  am  sure  I  should  not  have 
been  able  to  travel  far  without  mine. 

Whenever  I  encountered  a  strange  tribe  I  always 
asked  to  be  taken  before  the  chief,  and  when  in  his 
presence  I  presented  my  little  stick,  he  would  at  once 
manifest  the  greatest  friendliness,  and  offer  us  food 
and  drink.  Then,  before  I  took  my  departure,  he 
also  would  inscribe  his  sign  upon  the  message  stick, 
handing  it   back  to  me  and  probably  sending  me  on 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  131 

to  another  tribe  with  an  escort.  It  often  happened, 
however,  that  I  was  personally  introduced  to  another 
tribe  whose  ^'frontier"  joined  that  of  my  late  hosts, 
and  in  such  cases  my  passport  was  unnecessary. 

At  first  the  country  through  which  our  wanderings 
led  us  was  hilly  and  well  wooded,  the  trees  being 
particularly  fine,  many  of  them  towering  up  to  a  height 
of  150  feet  or  200  feet.  Our  principal  food  consisted 
of  roots,  rats,  snakes,  opossum,  and  kangaroo.  The 
physical  conditions  of  the  country  were  constantly 
changing  as  we  moved  farther  eastward,  and  Yamba's 
ingenuity  was  often  sorely  taxed  to  detect  the  where- 
abouts of  the  various  roots  necessary  for  food.  It  was 
obviously  unfair  to  expect  her  to  be  familiar  with  the 
flora  and  fauna  of  every  part  of  the  great  Australian 
Continent.  Sometimes  she  was  absolutely  nonplused, 
and  had  to  stay  a  few  days  with  a  tribe  until  the 
women  initiated  her  into  the  best  methods  of  cooking 
the  roots  of  the  country.  And  often  we  could  not 
understand  the  language.  In  such  cases,  though,  when 
spoken  words  were  unlike  those  uttered  in  Yamba's 
country,  we  resorted  to  a  wonderful  sign-language 
which  appears  to  be  general  among  the  Australian 
blacks.  All  that  Yamba  carried  was  a  basket  made 
of  bark,  slung  over  her  shoulder,  and  containing  a 
variety  of  useful  things,  including  some  needles  made 
out  of  the  bones  of  birds  and  fish  ;  a  couple  of  light 
grinding-stones  for  crushing  out  of  its  shell  a  very 
sustaining  kind  of  nut  found  on  the  palm  trees,  &c. 
Day  after  day  we  walked  steadily  on  in  an  easterly 
direction,  guiding  ourselves  in  the  daytime  by  the  sun, 
and  in  the  evening  by  opossum  scratches  on  trees  and 
the  positions  of  the  ant-hills,  which  are  always  built 


132   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

facing  the  east.     We  crossed  many  creeks  and  rivers, 
sometimes  wading  and  at  others  time  swimming. 

Gradually  we  left  the  hilly  country  behind,  and 
after  about  five  or  six  weeks'  tramping  got  into  an 
extraordinary  desert  of  red  sand,  which  gave  off  a  dust 
from  our  very  tracks  that  nearly  suffocated  us.  Each 
water-hole  we  came  across  now  began  to  contain  less 
and  less  of  the  precious  liquid,  and  our  daily  menu 
grew  more  and  more  scanty,  until  at  length  we  were 
compelled  to  live  on  practically  nothing  but  a  few  roots 
and  stray  rats.  Still  we  plodded  on,  finally  striking 
a  terrible  spinifex  country,  which  was  inconceivably 
worse  than  anything  we  had  hitherto  encountered. 
In  order  to  make  our  way  through  this  spinifex  (the 
terrible  ^^ porcupine  grass"  of  the  Australian  interior), 
we  were  bound  to  follow  the  tracks  made  by  kan- 
garoos or  natives,  otherwise  we  should  have  made  no 
progress  whatever.  These  tracks  at  times  wandered 
about  zigzag  fashion,  and  led  us  considerable  distances 
out  of  our  course,  but,  all  the  same,  we  dare  not  leave 
them.  Not  only  was  water  all  but  unobtainable  here, 
but  our  skin  was  torn  with  thorns  at  almost  every 
step.  Yamba  was  terribly  troubled  when  she  found 
she  could  no  longer  provide  for  my  wants.  For- 
tunately the  dew  fell  heavily  at  night,  and  a  sufficient 
quantity  would  collect  on  the  foliage  to  refresh  me 
somewhat  in  the  morning.  How  eagerly  would  I 
lick  the  precious  drops  from  the  leaves!  Curiously 
enough,  Yamba  herself  up  to  this  time  did  not  seem 
distressed  from  lack  of  water ;  but  nothing  about  this 
marvellous  woman  surprised  me.  It  took  us  about  ten 
days  to  pass  through  the  awful  spinifex  desert,  and  for 
at  least  eight  days  of  that  period  we  were  virtually 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  133 

without  water,  tramping  through  never-ending  tracts 
of  scrub,  prickly  grass,  and  undulating  sand-hills  of  a 
reddish  colour.  Often  and  often  I  blamed  myself 
bitterly  for  ever  going  into  that  frightful  country  at 
all.  Had  I  known  beforehand  that  it  was  totally  un- 
inhabited I  certainly  should  not  have  ventured  into 
it.  We  were  still  going  due  east,  but  in  consequence 
of  the  lack  of  water-holes,  my  heroic  guide  thought  it 
advisable  to  strike  a  little  more  north. 


CHAPTER  VII 

The  agonies  of  thirst — A  ghastly  drink — I  ask  Yamba  to  kill  me — My 
ministering  angel — How  Yamba  caught  opossum — The  water 
witch — A  barometer  of  snakes — The  coming  deluge — The  plunge 
into  the  Rapids — A  waste  of  waters — A  fearful  situation — Barking 
alligators — English-speaking  natives — A  ship  at  last — I  abandon 
hope — The  deserted  settlement. 

BY  this  time  I  began  to  feel  quite  delirious ;  I 
fear  I  was  like  a  baby  in  Yamba's  hands.  She 
knew  that  all  I  wanted  was  water,  and  became  almost 
distracted  when  she  could  not  find  any  for  me.  Of 
herself  she  never  thought.  And  yet  she  was  full  of 
strange  resources  and  devices.  When  I  moaned  aloud 
in  an  agony  of  thirst,  she  would  give  me  some  kind 
of  grass  to  chew ;  and  although  this  possessed  no  real 
moisture,  yet  it  promoted  the  flow  of  saliva,  and  thus 
slightly  relieved  me. 

Things  grew  worse  and  worse,  however,  and  the 
delirium  increased.  Hour  after  hour-  through  the 
endless  nights  would  that  devoted  creature  sit  by  my 
side,  moistening  my  lips  with  the  dew  that  collected 
on  the  grass.  On  the  fifth  day  without  water  I 
suffered  the  most  shocking  agonies,  and  in  my  lucid 
moments  gave  myself  up  for  lost.  I  could  neither 
stand  nor  walk,  speak  nor  swallow.  My  throat  seemed 
to  be  almost  closed  up,  and  when  I  opened  my  eyes 

everything  appeared  to  be  going  round  and  round  in 

134 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   135 

the  most  dizzy  and  sickening  manner.  My  heart  beat 
with  choking  violence,  and  my  head  ached,  so  that  I 
thought  I  was  going  mad.  My  bloodshot  eyes  (so 
Yamba  subsequently  told  me)  projected  from  their 
sockets  in  the  most  terrifying  manner,  and  a  horrible 
indescribable  longing  possessed  me  to  kill  my  faithful 
Bruno,  in  order  to  drink  his  blood.  My  poor  Bruno  ! 
As  1  write  these  humble  lines,  so  lacking  in  literary 
grace,  I  fancy  I  can  see  him  lying  by  my  side  in  that 
glaring,  illimitable  wilderness,  his  poor,  dry  tongue 
lolling  out,  and  his  piteous  brown  eyes  fixed  upon  me 
with  an  expression  of  mute  appeal  that  added  to  my 
agony.  The  only  thing  that  kept  him  from  collapsing 
altogether  was  the  blood  of  some  animal  which  Yamba 
might  succeed  in  killing. 

Gradually  I  grew  weaker  and  weaker,  and  at  last 
feeling  the  end  was  near,  I  crawled  under  the  first 
tree  I  came  across — never  for  a  moment  giving  a 
thought  as  to  its  species, — and  prepared  to  meet  the 
death  I  now  fervently  desired.  Had  Yamba,  too, 
given  up,  these  lines  would  never  have  been  written. 
Amazing  to  relate,  she  kept  comparatively  well  and 
active,  though  without  water;  and  in  my  most  violent 
paroxysm  she  would  pounce  upon  a  lizard  or  a  rat, 
and  give  me  its  warm  blood  to  drink,  while  yet  it  lived. 
Then  she  would  masticate  a  piece  of  iguana  flesh  and 
give  it  to  me  in  my  mouth,  but  I  was  quite  unable  to 
swallow  it,  greatly  to  her  disappointment.  She  must 
have  seen  that  I  was  slowly  sinking,  for  at  last  she 
stooped  down  and  whispered  earnestly  in  my  ear  that 
she  would  leave  me  for  a  little  while,  and  go  off  in 
search  of  water.  Like  a  dream  it  comes  back  to  me 
how    she   explained    that    she    had    seen    some    birds 


136  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

passing  overhead,  and  that  if  she  followed  in  the 
same  direction  she  was  almost  certain  to  reach  water 
sooner  or  later. 

I  could  not  reply ;  but  I  felt  it  was  a  truly  hopeless 
enterprise  on  her  part.  And  as  I  did  not  want  her  to 
leave  me,  I  remember  I  held  out  my  tomahawk  feebly 
towards  her,  and  signed  to  her  to  come  and  strike 
me  on  the  head  with  it,  and  so  put  an  end  to  my 
dreadful  agonies.  The  heroic  creature  only  smiled 
and  shook  her  head  emphatically.  She  took  the  prof- 
fered weapon,  however,  and  after  putting  some  dis- 
tinguishing marks  on  my  tree  with  it,  she  hurled  it 
some  distance  away  from  me.  She  then  stooped  and 
propped  me  against  the  trunk  of  the  tree;  and  then 
leaving  my  poor  suffering  dog  to  keep  me  company, 
she  set  out  on  her  lonely  search  with  long,  loping 
strides  of  amazing  vigour. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  she  took  her 
departure  ;  and  I  lay  there  hour  after  hour,  sometimes 
frantically  delirious,  and  at  others  in  a  state  of  semi- 
consciousness, fancying  she  was  by  my  side  with 
shells  brimming  over  with  delicious  water.  I  would 
rouse  myself  with  a  start  from  time  to  time,  but,  alas  ! 
my  Yamba  was  not  near  me.  During  the  long  and 
deathly  stillness  of  the  night,  the  dew  came  down 
heavily,  and  as  it  enveloped  my  bed,  I  fell  into  a 
sound  sleep,  from  which  I  was  awakened  some  hours 
later  by  the  same  clear  and  ringing  voice  that  had 
addressed  me  on  that  still  night  on  my  island  sand- 
spit.  Out  upon  the  impressive  stillness  of  the  air 
rang  the  earnest  words :  ^*  Coupe  farbre !  Coupe 
Varbre!'' 

I  was  quite  conscious,  and  much  refreshed  by  my 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  137 

sleep,  but  the  message  puzzled  me  a  great  deal.  At 
first  I  thought  it  must  have  been  Yamba's  voice,  but 
I  remembered  that  she  did  not  know  a  v^rord  of  French  ; 
and  when  I  looked  round  there  was  no  one  to  be  seen. 
The  mysterious  message  still  rang  in  my  ears,  but  I 
was  far  too  weak  to  attempt  to  cut  the  tree  myself,  I 
lay  there  in  a  state  of  inert  drowsiness  until,  rousing 
myself  a  little  before  dawn,  I  heard  the  familiar  foot- 
steps of  Yamba  approaching  the  spot  where  I  lay. 
Her  face  expressed  anxiety,  earnestness,  and  joy. 

In  her  trembling  hands  she  bore  a  big  lily  leaf  con- 
taining two  or  three  ounces  of  life-giving  water.  This 
I  drank  with  gasping  eagerness,  as  you  may  suppose. 
My  delirium  had  now  entirely  left  me,  although  I  was 
still  unable  to  speak.  I  signed  to  her  to  cut  the  tree, 
as  the  voice  in  my  dream  had  directed  me.  Without 
a  word  of  question  Yamba  picked  up  the  tomahawk 
from  where  she  had  hurled  it,  and  then  cut  vigorously 
into  the  trunk,  making  a  hole  three  or  four  inches  deep. 
It  may  seem  astonishing  to  you,  but  it  surprised  me 
in  no  wise  when  out  from  the  hole  there  trickled  a 
clear,  uncertain  stream  of  water,  under  which  Yamba 
promptly  held  my  fevered  head.  This  had  a  wonder- 
fully refreshing  effect  upon  me,  and  in  a  short  time  I 
was  able  to  speak  feebly  but  rationally,  greatly  to  the 
delight  of  my  faithful  companion.  As,  however,  I  was 
still  too  weak  to  move,  I  indulged  in  another  and  far 
sounder  sleep.  I  do  not  know  the  scientific  name  of 
that  wonderful  Australian  tree  which  saved  my  life, 
but  believe  it  is  well  known  to  naturalists.  I  have 
heard  it  called  the  "bottle  tree,"  from  the  shape  of 
the  trunk.  All  through  that  terrible  night,  while 
Yamba  was  far  away  searching  for  water,  Bruno  had 


138   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

never  left  my  side,  looking  into  my  face  wistfully,  and 
occasionally  liclcing  my  body  sympathetically  with  his 
poor,  parched  tongue.  Whilst  I  was  asleep  the  second 
time,  Yamba  went  off  with  the  dog  in  search  of  food, 
and  returned  with  a  young  opossum,  which  was  soon 
frizzling  in  an  appetising  way  on  a  tripod  of  sticks 
over  a  blazing  fire.  I  was  able  to  eat  a  little  of  the 
flesh,  and  we  obtained  all  the  water  we  wanted  from 
our  wonderful  tree.  Of  course,  Yamba  was  unac- 
quainted with  the  fact  that  water  was  stored  in  its 
interior.  As  a  rule,  her  instinct  might  be  depended 
upon  implicitly ;  and  even  after  years  of  her  companion- 
ship I  used  to  be  filled  with  wonder  at  the  way  in 
which  she  would  track  down  game  and  find  honey. 
She  would  glance  at  a  tree  casually,  and  discern  on 
the  bark  certain  minute  scratches,  which  were  quite 
invisible  to  me,  even  when  pointed  out.  She  would 
then  climb  up  like  a  monkey,  and  return  to  the  ground 
with  a  good-sized  opossum,  which  would  be  roasted  in 
its  skin,  with  many  different  varieties  of  delicious 
roots. 

When  I  had  quite  recovered,  Yamba  told  me  she  had 
walked  many  miles  during  the  night,  and  had  finally 
discovered  a  water-hole  in  a  new  country,  for  which 
she  said  we  must  make  as  soon  as  I  was  sufficiently 
strong.  Fortunately  this  did  not  take  very  long,  and 
on  reaching  the  brink  of  the  water-hole  we  camped 
beside  it  for  several  days,  in  order  to  recuperate.  I 
must  say  that  the  water  we  found  here  did  not  look 
very  inviting — it  was,  in  fact,  very  slimy  and  green  in 
colour ;  but  by  the  time  we  took  our  departure  there 
was  not  a  drop  left.  Yamba  had  a  method  of  filtration 
which  excited  my  admiration.     She  dug  another  hole 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  139 

alongside  the  one  containing  the  water,  leaving  a  few 
inches  of  earth  between  them,  through  which  the  water 
would  percolate,  and  collect  in  the  second  hole  perfectly 
filtered. 

At  other  times,  when  no  ordinary  human  being  could 
detect  the  presence  of  water,  she  would  point  out  to 
me  a  little  knob  of  clay  on  the  ground  in  an  old 
dried-up  water-hole.  This,  she  told  me,  denoted  the 
presence  of  a  frog,  and  she  would  at  once  thrust  down 
a  reed  about  eighteen  inches  long,  and  invite  me  to 
suck  the  upper  end,  with  the  result  that  I  imbibed 
copious  draughts  of  delicious  water. 

At  the  water-hole  just  described  birds  were  rather 
plentiful,  and  when  they  came  down  to  drink,  Yamba 
knocked  them  over  without  difficulty.  They  made  a 
very  welcome  addition  to  our  daily  bill  of  fare.  Her 
mode  of  capturing  the  birds  was  simplicity  itself.  She 
made  herself  a  long  covering  of  grass  that  completely 
enveloped  her,  and,  shrouded  in  this,  waited  at  the 
edge  of  the  water- hole  for  the  birds  to  come  and  drink. 
Then  she  knocked  over  with  a  stick  as  many  as  she 
required.  In  this  way  we  had  a  very  pleasant  spell  of 
rest  for  four  or  five  days.  Continuing  our  journey 
once  more,  we  pushed  on  till  in  about  three  weeks  we 
came  to  a  well-wooded  country,  where  the  eucalyptus 
flourished  mightily  and  water  was  plentiful;  but  yet, 
strange  to  say,  there  was  very  little  game  in  this  region. 
Soon  after  this,  I  noticed  that  Yamba  grew  a  little 
anxious,  and  she  explained  that  as  we  had  not  come 
across  any  kangaroos  lately,  nor  any  blacks,  it  was 
evident  that  the  wet  season  was  coming  on.  We  there- 
fore decided  to  steer  for  higher  ground,  and  accordingly 
went  almost  due  north  for  the  next   few  days,  until 


140  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

we  reached  the  banks  of  a  big  river — the  Roper  River, 
as  I  afterwards  found  out — where  we  thought  it  ad- 
visable to  camp.  This  would  probably  be  sometime 
in  the  month  of  December. 

One  day  I  saw  a  number  of  small  snakes  swarming 
round  the  foot  of  a  tree,  and  was  just  about  to  knock 
some  of  them  over  with  my  stick,  when  Yamba  called 
out  to  me  excitedly  not  to  molest  them.  They  then 
began  to  climb  the  tree,  and  she  explained  that  this 
clearly  indicated  the  advent  of  the  wet  season.  ''  I 
did  not  wish  you  to  kill  the  snakes,"  she  said,  ''  because 
I  wanted  to  see  if  they  would  take  refuge  in  the  trees 
from  the  coming  floods." 

Up  to  this  time,  however,  there  had  not  been  the 
slightest  indication  of  any  great  change  in  the  weather. 
Many  months  must  have  elapsed  since  rain  had 
fallen  in  these  regions,  for  the  river  was  extremely 
low  between  its  extraordinarily  high  banks,  and  the 
country  all  round  was  dry  and  parched ;  but  even 
as  we  walked,  a  remarkable  phenomenon  occurred, 
which  told  of  impending  changes.  I  was  oppressed 
with  a  sense  of  coming  evil.  I  listened  intently  when 
Yamba  requested  me  to  do  so,  but  at  first  all  I  could 
hear  was  a  curious  rumbling  sound,  far  away  in  the 
distance.  This  noise  gradually  increased  in  volume, 
and  came  nearer  and  nearer,  but  still  I  was  utterly 
unable  to  account  for  it.  I  also  noticed  that  the  river 
was  becoming  strangely  agitated,  and  was  swirling 
along  at  ever-increasing  speed.  Suddenly  an  enormous 
mass  of  water  came  rushing  down  with  a  frightful  roar, 
in  one  solid  wave,  and  then  it  dawned  upon  me  that  it 
must  have  already  commenced  raining  in  the  hills,  and 
the  tributaries  of  the  river  were  now  sending  down 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  141 

their  floods  into  the  main  stream,  which  was  rising 
with  astonishing  rapidity.  In  the  course  of  a  couple 
of  hours  it  had  risen  between  thirty  and  forty  feet. 
Yamba  seemed  a  little  anxious,  and  suggested  that 
we  had  better  build  a  hut  on  some  high  ground  and 
remain  secure  in  that  locality,  without  attempting  to 
continue  our  march  while  the  rains  lasted;  and  it  was 
evident  they  were  now  upon  us. 

We  therefore  set  to  work  to  construct  a  comfortable 
little  shelter  of  bark,  fastened  to  a  framework  of  poles 
by  means  of  creepers  and  climbing  plants.  Thus,  by 
the  time  the  deluge  was  fairly  upon  us,  we  were  quite 
snuglyensconced.  We  did  not,  however,  remain  in-doors 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  day,  but  went  in  and  out, 
hunting  for  food  and  catching  game  just  as  usual;  the 
torrential  rain  which  beat  down  upon  our  naked  bodies 
being  rather  a  pleasant  experience  than  otherwise.  At 
this  time  we  had  a  welcome  addition  to  our  food  in  the 
form  of  cabbage-palms  and  wild  honey.  We  also  started 
building  a  catamaran,  with  which  to  navigate  the  river 
when  the  floods  had  subsided.  Yamba  procured  a  few 
trunks  of  very  light  timber,  and  these  we  fastened 
together  with  long  pins  of  hardwood,  and  then  bound 
them  still  more  firmly  together  with  strips  of  kangaroo 
hide.  We  also  collected  a  stock  of  provisions  to  take 
with  us — kangaroo  and  opossum  meat,  of  course ;  but 
principally  wild  honey,  cabbage-palm,  and  roots  of 
various  kinds.  These  preparations  took  us  several 
days,  and  by  the  time  we  had  arranged  everything  for 
our  journey  the  weather  had  become  settled  once  more. 
Yamba  remarked  to  me  that  if  we  simply  drifted  down 
the  Roper  River  we  should  be  carried  to  the  open  sea ; 
nor  would  we  be  very  long,  since  the  swollen  current 


142   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

was  now  running  like  a  mill-race.  Our  catamaran,  of 
course,  aflforded  no  shelter  of  any  kind,  but  we  carried 
some  sheets  of  bark  to  form  seats  for  ourselves  and 
the  dog. 

At  length  we  pushed  off  on  our  eventful  voyage,  and 
no  sooner  had  we  got  fairly  into  the  current  than  we 
were  carried  along  with  prodigious  rapidity,  and  without 
the  least  exertiorf  on  our  part,  except  in  the  matter  of 
steering.  This  was  done  by  means  of  paddles  from 
the  side  of  the  craft.  We  made  such  rapid  progress 
that  I  felt  inclined  to  go  on  all  night,  but  shortly  after 
dusk  Yamba  persuaded  me  to  pull  in-shore  and  camp 
on  the  bank  until  morning,  because  of  the  danger  of 
travelling  at  night  among  the  logs  and  other  wreckage 
that  floated  about  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

We  passed  any  number  of  submerged  trees,  and 
on  several  of  these  found  snakes  coiled  among  the 
branches.  Some  of  these  reptiles  we  caught  and  ate. 
About  the  middle  of  the  second  day  we  heard  a  tre- 
mendous roar  ahead,  as  though  there  were  rapids  in 
the  bed  of  the  river.  It  was  now  impossible  to  pull 
the  catamaran  out  of  its  course,  no  matter  how  hard 
we  might  have  striven,  the  current  being  absolutely 
irresistible.  The  banks  narrowed  as  the  rapids  were 
reached,  with  the  result  that  the  water  in  the  middle 
actually  became  convex^  so  tremendous  was  the  rush  in 
that  narrow  gorge.  Yamba  cried  out  to  me  to  lie 
flat  on  the  catamaran,  and  hold  on  as  tightly  as  I  could 
until  we  reached  smooth  water  again.  This  she  did 
herself,  seizing  hold  of  the  dog  also. 

Nearer  and  nearer  we  were  swept  to  the  great  seeth- 
ing caldron  of  boiling  and  foaming  waters,  and  at 
last,  with  a  tremendous  splash  we  entered  the  terrify- 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  143 

ing  commotion.  We  went  right  under,  and  so  great 
was  the  force  of  the  water,  that  had  I  not  been  cHnging 
tenaciously  to  the  catamaran  I  must  infallibly  have 
been  swept  away  to  certain  death.  Presently,  how- 
ever, we  shot  into  less  troubled  waters  and  then  con- 
tinued our  course,  very  little  the  worse  for  having 
braved  these  terrible  rapids.  Had  our  craft  been  a 
dug-out  boat,  as  I  originally  intended  it  to  be, 
we  must  inevitably  have  been  swamped.  Again  we 
camped  on  shore  that  night,  and  were  off  at  an  early 
hour  next  morning.  As  we  glided  swiftly  on,  I  noticed 
that  the  river  seemed  to  be  growing  tremendously 
wide.  Yamba  explained  that  we  were  now  getting 
into  very  flat  country,  and  therefore  the  great  stretch 
of  water  was  a  mere  flood.  She  also  prophesied  a 
rather  bad  time  for  us,  as  we  should  not  be  able  to  go 
ashore  at  night  and  replenish  our  stock  of  provisions. 
Fortunately  we  had  a  sufficient  supply  with  us  on  the 
catamaran  to  last  at  least  two  or  three  days  longer. 
The  last  time  we  landed  Yamba  had  stocked  an 
additional  quantity  of  edible  roots  and  smoked  meats, 
and  although  we  lost  a  considerable  portion  of  these 
in  shooting  the  rapids,  there  still  remained  enough  for 
a  few  days'  supply. 

In  consequence  of  the  ever-increasing  width  of  the 
river,  I  found  it  a  difficult  matter  to  keep  in  the 
channel .  where  the  current  was,  so  I  gave  up  the 
steering  paddle  to  Yamba,  who  seemed  instinctively 
to  know  what  course  to  take. 

On  and  on  we  went,  until  at  length  the  w^hole 
country  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  was  one  vast 
sea,  extending  virtually  to  the  horizon;  its  sluggish 
surface    only    broken   by   the   tops   of  the  submerged 


144   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

trees.  One  day  we  sighted  a  number  of  little  islets 
some  distance  ahead,  and  then  we  felt  we  must  be 
nearing  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  last  day  or 
two  had  been  full  of  anxiety  and  inconvenience  for 
us,  for  we  had  been  simply  drifting  aimlessly  on, 
without  being  able  to  land  and  stretch  our  cramped 
limbs  or  indulge  in  a  comfortable  sleep.  Thus  the 
sight  of  the  islands  was  a  great  relief  to  us,  and 
my  ever-faithful  and  considerate  companion  remarked 
that  as  we  had  nothing  to  fear  now,  and  I  was  weary 
with  my  vigil  of  the  previous  night,  I  had  better  try 
and  get  a  little  sleep.  Accordingly  I  lay  down  on  the 
catamaran,  and  had  barely  extended  my  limbs  when  I 
fell  fast  asleep.  I  awoke  two  or  three  hours  later,  at 
mid-day,  and  was  surprised  to  find  that  our  catamaran 
was  not  moving.  I  raised  myself  up,  only  to  find 
that  we  had  apparently  drifted  among  the  tops  of  a 
ring  of  trees  rising  from  a  submerged  island.  "Halloa!" 
I  said  to  Yamba,  "  are  we  stuck  ?  "  ''  No,"  she  replied 
quietly,  '*  but  look  round." 

You  may  judge  of  my  horror  and  amazement  when 
I  saw  outside  the  curious  ring  of  tree-tops,  scores 
of  huge  alligators  peering  at  us  with  horrid  stolidity 
through  the  branches,  some  of  them  snapping  their 
capacious  jaws  with  a  viciousness  that  left  no  doubt  as 
to  its  meaning.  Yamba  explained  to  me  that  she  had 
been  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  this  peculiar  but  con- 
venient shelter,  because  the  alligators  seemed  to  be 
swarming  in  vast  numbers  in  that  part  of  the  river. 
She  had  easily  forced  a  way  for  the  catamaran 
through  the  branches,  and  once  past,  had  drawn 
them  together  again.  The  ferocious  monsters  could 
certainly   have   forced    their   way   into    the   inclosure 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF 


145 


after  us,  but  they  didn't  seem  to  realise  that  such 
a  thing  was  possible,  apparently  being  quite  content 
to  remain  outside.  Judge,  then,  our  position  for 
yourself — with  a  scanty  food  supply,  on  a  frail  plat- 
form of  logs,  floating  among  the  tree-tops,  and  literally 
besieged  by  crowds  of  loathsome  alligators  !     Nor  did 


ALLIGATORS   PEERING   AT    US 


we  know  how  long  our  imprisonment  was  likely  to 
last.  Our  poor  dog,  too,  was  terribly  frightened,  and 
sat  whining  and  trembling  in  a  most  pitiable  way  in 
spite  of  reassuring  words  and  caresses  from  Yamba 
and  myself.  I  confess  that  I  was  very  much  alarmed, 
for  the  monsters  would  occasionally  emit  a  most 
peculiar  and  terrifying  sound — not  unlike  the  roar  of  a 

K 


146   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

lion.  Hour  after  hour  we  sat  there  on  the  swaying 
catamaran,  praying  fervently  that  the  hideous  reptiles 
might  leave  us,  and  let  us  continue  our  journey  in  peace. 
As  darkness  began  to  descend  upon  the  vast  waste  of 
waters,  it  occurred  to  me  to  make  a  bold  dash  through 
the  serried  ranks  of  our  besiegers,  but  Yamba  restrained 
me,  telling  me  it  meant  certain  death  to  attempt  to  run 
the  gantlet  under  such  fearsome  circumstances. 

Night  came  on.  How  can  I  describe  its  horrors  ? 
Even  as  I  write,  I  seem  to  hear  the  ceaseless  roars 
of  those  horrible  creatures,  and  the  weird  but  gentle 
lappings  of  the  limitless  waste  that  extended  as  far 
as  the  e^'e  could  reach.  Often  I  was  tempted  to  give 
up  in  despair,  feeling  that  there  w^as  no  hope  whatever 
for  us.  Towards  morning,  however,  the  alligators 
apparently  got  on  the  scent  of  some  floating  carcasses 
brought  down  by  the  floods,  and  one  and  all  left  us. 
Some  little  time  after  the  last  ugly  head  had  gone 
under,  the  catamaran  was  sweeping  swiftly  and  noise- 
lessly down  the  stream  again. 

We  made  straight  for  a  little  island  some  distance 
ahead  of  us,  and  found  it  uninhabited.  Black  and 
white  birds,  not  quite  so  large  as  pigeons,  were  very 
plentiful,  as  also  were  eggs.  Soon  my  Yamba  had 
a  nice  meal  ready  for  me,  and  then  we  lay  down  for 
a  much-needed  rest.  After  this  we  steered  for  a  large 
island  some  nine  or  ten  miles  distant,  and  as  we  ap- 
proached we  could  see  that  this  one  was  inhabited, 
from  the  smoke-signals  the  natives  sent  up  the  moment 
they  caught  sight  of  us. 

As  we  came  nearer  we  could  see  the  blacks  as- 
sembling on  the  beach  to  meet  us,  but,  far  from  show- 
ing any  friendliness,    they  held    their   spears   poised 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  147 

threateningly,  and  would  no  doubt  have  thrown  them 
had  I  not  suddenly  jumped  to  my  feet  and  made  signs 
that  I  wished  to  sit  down  with  them — to  parley  with 
them.  They  then  lowered  their  spears,  and  we  landed  ; 
but  to  my  great  disappointment  neither  Yamba  nor  I 
could  understand  one  word  of  their  language,  which 
was  totally  different  from  the  dialect  of  Yamba's 
country.  Our  first  meeting  was  conducted  in  the 
usual  way — squatting  down  on  our  haunches,  and  then 
drawing  nearer  and  nearer  until  we  were  able  to  rub 
noses  on  one  another's  shoulders.  I  then  explained 
by  means  of  signs  that  I  wanted  to  stay  with  them  a 
few  days,  and  I  was  inexpressibly  relieved  to  find 
that  my  little  passport  stick  (which  never  left  my 
possession  for  a  moment),  was  recognised  at  once,  and 
proved  most  efficacious  generally.  After  this  I  became 
more  friendly  with  my  hosts,  and  told  them  by  signs 
that  I  was  looking  for  white  people  like  myself, 
whereupon  they  replied  I  should  have  to  go  still 
farther  south  to  find  them.  They  took  us  to  their 
camp,  and  provided  us  with  food,  consisting  mainly 
of  fish,  shell-fish,  and  roots.  So  far  as  I  could 
ascertain,  there  were  no  kangaroo  or  opossum  on 
the  island.  After  two  or  three  days,  I  thought  it 
time  to  be  continuing  our  journey;  but  feeling  con- 
vinced that  I  must  be  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Cape 
York  Peninsula — instead  of  being  on  the  west  coast 
of  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria — I  decided  not  to  go  south 
at  all,  but  to  strike  due  north,  where  I  felt  certain 
Somerset  Point  lay ;  and  I  also  resolved  to  travel  by 
sea  this  time,  the  blacks  having  presented  me  with  a 
very  unsubstantial  "  dug-out  "  canoe.  Leaving  behind 
us  the  catamaran  that  had  brought  us  so  many  hun- 


148   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

dreds  of  miles,  we  set  out  on  our  travels  once  more — 
taking  care,  however,  never  to  lose  sight  of  the  coast- 
line on  account  of  our  frail  craft.  We  passed  several 
beautiful  islands,  big  and  little,  and  on  one  that  we 
landed  I  came  across  some  native  chalk  drawings  on 
the  face  of  the  rock.  They  depicted  rude  figures  of 
men — I  don't  remember  any  animals — but  were  not 
nearly  so  well  done  as  the  drawings  I  had  seen  in 
caves  up  in  the  Cape  Londonderry  district. 

We  also  landed  from  time  to  time  on  the  mainland, 
and  spoke  with  the  chiefs  of  various  tribes.  They  were 
all  hostile  at  first.  On  one  occasion  we  actually  met 
one  or  two  blacks  who  spoke  a  few  words  of  English. 
They  had  evidently  been  out  with  pearlers  at  some 
time  in  their  lives,  but  had  returned  to  their  native 
wilds  many  years  before  our  visit.  I  asked  them  if 
they  knew  where  white  men  were  to  be  found,  and 
they  pointed  east  (Cape  York),  and  also  indicated  that 
the  whites  were  many  moons'  journey  away  from  us. 
I  was  sorely  puzzled.  A  glance  at  a  map  of  Australia 
will  enable  the  reader  to  realise  my  great  blunder. 
Ignorant  almost  of  Australian  geography  I  fancied,  on 
reaching  the  western  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria, 
that  I  had  struck  the  Coral  Sea,  and  that  all  I  had  to 
do  was  to  strike  north  to  reach  Somerset,  the  white 
settlement  I  had  heard  about  from  the  pearlers.  1 
felt  so  confident  Cape  York  lay  immediately  to  the 
north,  that  I  continued  my  course  in  that  direction, 
paddling  all  day  and  running  in-shore  to  camp  at 
night.  We  lived  mainly  on  shell-fish  and  sea-birds' 
eggs  at  this  time,  and  altogether  life  became  terribly 
wearisome  and  monotonous.  This,  however,  was 
mainly  owing  to  my  anxiety. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  149 

About  a  fortnight  after  leaving  the  mouth  of  the 
Roper  River  we  came  to  a  place  which  I  now  know  to 
be  Point  Dale.  We  then  steered  south  into  a  beautiful 
landlocked  passage  which  lies  between  the  mainland 
and  Elcho  Island,  and  which  at  the  time  I  took  to  be 
the  little  strait  running  between  Albany  Island  and 
Cape  York.  I  steered  south-west  in  consequence ; 
and  after  a  time,  as  I  did  not  sight  the  points  I  was  on 
the  look-out  for,  I  felt  completely  nonplused.  We 
landed  on  Elcho  Island  and  spent  a  day  or  two  there. 
Being  still  under  the  impression  that  Cape  York  was 
higher  up,  I  steered  west,  and  soon  found  myself  in  a 
very  unpleasant  region.  We  explored  almost  every 
bay  and  inlet  we  came  across,  but  of  course  always 
with  the  same  disheartening  result.  Sometimes  we 
would  come  near  being  stranded  on  a  sandbank,  and 
would  have  to  jump  overboard  and  push  our  craft  into 
deeper  water.  At  others,  she  would  be  almost  swamped 
in  a  rough  sea,  but  still  we  stuck  to  our  task,  and 
after  passing  Goulbourn  Island  we  followed  the  coast. 
Then  we  struck  north  until  we  got  among  a  group  of 
islands,  and  came  to  Croker  Island,  which  goes  direct 
north  and  south.  Day  after  day  we  kept  doggedly  on, 
hugging  the  shore  very  closely,  going  in  and  out  of 
every  bay,  and  visiting  almost  every  island,  yet  never 
seeing  a  single  human  being.  We  were  apparently 
still  many  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  our  destina- 
tion. To  add  to  the  wretchedness  of  the  situation,  my 
poor  Yamba,  who  had  been  so  devoted,  so  hardy,  and 
so  contented,  at  length  began  to  manifest  symptoms 
of  illness,  and  complained  gently  of  the  weariness  of 
it  all.  "You  are  looking,"  she  would  say,  "  for  a  place 
that  does  not  exist.     You   are   looking  for  friends  of 


I50  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

whose  very  existence  you  are  unaware."  I  would  not 
give  in,  however,  and  persuaded  her  that  all  would  be 
well  in  time,  if  only  she  would  continue  to  bear  with 
me.  Both  of  us  were  terribly  cramped' in  the  boat; 
and  by  way  of  exercise  one  or  the  other  would  occa- 
sionally jump  overboard  and  have  a  long  swim.  When- 
ever we  could  we  landed  at  night. 

One  morning,  shortly  after  we  had  begun  our  usual 
trip  for  the  day,  and  were  rounding  a  headland,  I  was 
almost  stupefied  to  behold  in  front  of  me  the  masts 
of  a  boat  (which  I  afterwards  found  to  be  a  Malay 
proa),  close  in-shore.  The  situation,  in  reality,  was 
between  Croker's  Island  and  the  main,  but  at  the  time 
I  thought  that  I  had  at  length  reached  Somerset.  1 
sprang  to  my  feet  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  excitement. 
'^ Thank  God!  thank  God!"  I  shouted  to  Yamba; 
"we  are  saved  at  last! — saved — saved — saved!"  As 
I  shouted,  I  pulled  the  canoe  round  and  made  for  the 
vessel  with  all  possible  despatch.  We  very  soon 
came  up  with  her,  and  found  her  almost  stranded,  in 
consequence  of  the  lowness  of  the  tide.  I  promptly 
clambered  aboard,  but  failed  to  find  a  soul.  I  thought 
this  rather  strange,  but  as  I  could  see  a  hut  not 
very  far  away,  close  to  the  beach,  I  steered  towards 
it.  This  little  dwelling,  too,  was  uninhabited,  though 
I  found  a  number  of  trays  of  fish  lying  about,  which 
afterwards  I  found  to  be  beche-de-iner  being  dried  and 
smoked.  Suddenly,  while  Yamba  and  I  were  investi- 
gating the  interior  of  the  hut,  a  number  of  Malays 
unexpectedly  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  I  then  realised 
I  had  had  the  good  fortune  to  come  across  a  Malay 
beche-de-iner  expedition. 

The  fishermen  were  exceedingly  surprised  at  seeing 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  151 

Yamba  and  me ;  but  when  they  found  I  could  speak 
their  language  a  little  they  evinced  every  sign  of  de- 
light, and  forthwith  entertained  us  most  hospitably  on 
board  their  craft,  which  was  a  boat  often  or  fifteen  tons. 
They  told  me  they  had  come  from  the  Dutch  islands 
south  of  Timor,  and  promptly  made  me  an  offer  that 
set  my  heart  beating  wildly.  They  said  they  were 
prepared  to  take  me  back  to  Kopang,  if  I  wished ;  and 
I,  on  my  part,  offered  to  give  them  all  the  pearl  shells 
left  on  my  little  island  in  the  Sea  of  Timor — the  lati- 
tude of  which  I  took  good  care  not  to  divulge — on 
condition  that  they  called  there.  They  even  offered 
Yamba  a  passage  along  with  me  ;  but,  to  my  amazement 
and  bitter  disappointment,  she  said  she  did  not  wish  to 
go  with  them.  She  trembled  as  though  with  fear.  She 
was  afraid  that  when  once  we  were  on  board,  the 
Malays  would  kill  me  and  keep  her. 

One  other  reason  for  this  fear  I  knew,  but  it  in  no 
way  mitigated  my  acute  grief  at  being  obliged  to 
decHne  what  would  probably  be  my  only  chance  of 
returning  to  civilisation.  For  this  I  had  pined  day  and 
night  for  four  or  five  years,  and  now  that  escape  was 
within  my  grasp  I  was  obhged  to  throw  it  away.  For 
let  me  emphatically  state,  that  even  if  civilisation  had 
been  but  a  mile  away,  I  would  not  have  gone  a  yard 
towards  it  without  that  devoted  creature  who  had  been 
my  salvation,  not  on  one  occasion  onl}^  but  practically 
every  moment  of  my  existence. 

With  passionate  eagerness  I  tried  to  persuade  Yamba 
to  change  her  mind,  but  she  remained  firm  in  her  de- 
cision ;  and  so,  almost  choking  with  bitter  regret,  and 
in  a  state  of  utter  collapse,  I  had  to  decline  the  offer 
of  the  Malays.     We  stayed  with  them,  however,  a  few 


152   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

weeks  longer,  and  at  length  they  accompanied  me  to 
a  camp  of  black  fellows  near  some  lagoons,  a  little 
way  farther  south  of  their  own  camp.  Before  they 
left,  they  presented  me  with  a  quantity  of  beche-de-mer^ 
or  sea-slugs,  which  make  most  excellent  soup.  At  the 
place  indicated  by  the  Malays,  which  was  in  Raffles 
Bay,  the  chief  spoke  quite  excellent  English.  One  of 
his  wives  could  even  say  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  English, 
though,  of  course,  she  did  not  know  what  she  was 
talking  about.  "  Captain  Jack  Davis,"  as  he  called 
himself,  had  been  for  some  little  time  on  one  of  her 
Majesty's  ships,  and  he  told  me  that  not  many  marches 
away  there  was  an  old  European  settlement ;  he  even 
offered  to  guide  me  there,  if  I  cared  to  go.  He  first 
led  me  to  an  old  white  settlement  in  Raffles  Bay,  called, 
I  think,-  Fort  Wellington,  where  I  found  some  large  fruit- 
trees,  including  ripe  yellow  mangoes.  There  were,  be- 
sides, raspberries,  strawberries,  and  Cape  gooseberries. 
Needless  to  remark,  all  this  made  me  very  happy  and 
contented,  for  I  felt  I  must  now  be  getting  near  the 
home  of  some  white  men.  I  thought  that,  after  all, 
perhaps  Yamba's  refusal  to  go  with  the  Malays  was 
for  the  best,  and  with  high  hopes  I  set  out  with 
Captain  Davis  for  another  settlement  he  spoke  of. 
This  turned  out  to  be  Port  Essington,  which  we 
reached  in  two  or  three  days.  Another  cruel  blow 
was  dealt  me  here. 

You  can  perhaps  form  some  idea  of  my  poignant 
dismay  and  disappointment  on  finding  that  this  dreary- 
looking  place  of  swamps  and  marshes  was  quite 
deserted,  although  there  were  still  a  number  of  ruined 
brick  houses,  gardens,  and  orchards  there.  The  blacks 
told  me  that  at  one  time  it  had  been  one  of  the  most 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF 


153 


important  penal  settlements  in  Australia,  but  had  to 
be  abandoned  on  account  of  the  prevalence  of  malarial 
fever  arising  from  the  swamps  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. I  came  across  a  number  of  graves,  which  were 
evidently  those  of  the  exiled  settlers ;  and  one  of 
the  wooden  headstones  bore  the  name  of  Captain  Hill 


CATCHING    WATER-FOWL 


(I  think  that  was  the  name).  I  have  an  idea  that  the 
fence  round  this  old  cemetery  still  remained.  There 
was  food  in  abundance  at  this  place  —  raspberries, 
bananas,  and  mangoes  grew  in  profusion  ;  whilst  the 
marshes  were  inhabited  by  vast  flocks  of  geese,  ducks, 
white  ibis,  and  other  wild-fowl.  Indeed  in  the  swamps 
the  birds  rose  in  such  prodigious  numbers  as  actually 


154   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

to  obscure  the  face  of  the  sun.  Here  for  the  first  time 
I  saw  web-footed  birds  perched  in  trees. 

The  blacks  had  a  very  pecuhar  method  of  catching 
water-fowl.  They  would  simply  wade  through  the 
reeds  into  the  water  almost  up  to  their  necks,  and 
then  cover  their  heads  with  a  handful  of  reeds. 
Remaining  perfectly  still,  they  would  imitate  the  cry 
of  different  wild-fowl.  Then  at  a  convenient  oppor- 
tunity, they  would  simply  seize  a  goose  or  a  duck  by 
the  leg,  and  drag  it  down  under  the  water  until  it  was 
drowned.  The  number  of  water-fowl  caught  in  this 
way  by  a  single  black  fellow  was  truly  astonishing. 

After  having  remained  a  fortnight  at  Port  Essington 
itself,  we  returned  to  Raffles  Bay,  where  Yamba  and 
I  made  a  camp  among  the  blacks  and  took  up  our 
residence  among  them ;  for  Captain  Davis  had  told  me 
that  ships  called  there  occasionally,  and  it  was  possible 
that  one  might  call  soon  from  Port  Darwin.  The 
vessels,  he  added,  came  for  buffalo  meat — of  which 
more  hereafter.  1  had  decided  to  remain  among  these 
people  some  little  time,  because  they  knew  so  much 
about  Europeans,  and  I  felt  sure  of  picking  up  know- 
ledge which  would  prove  useful  to  me. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

In  the  throes  of  fever — A  ghastly  discovery — Pitiful  relics — A  critical 
moment — Yamba  in  danger — A  blood  bath — A  luxury  indeed — 
Signs  of  civilisation  —  The  great  storiri  —  Drifting,  drifting — 
Yamba's  mysterious  glee — A  dreadful  shock — "Welcome  home  !" 
— My  official  protectors — Myself  as  a  cannibal  war  chief — Prepara- 
tions for  battle — A  weird  apparition — Generosity  to  the  vanquished 
— The  old  desire. 

I  HAD  not  been  established  in  this  camp  many  days, 
however,  before  I  was  struck  down,  for  the  first 
time,  with  a  terrible  attack  of  malarial  fever,  probably 
produced  by  the  many  hours  I  had  spent  wading  in 
the  swamps  at  Port  Essington.  There  were  the  usual 
symptoms — quick  flushings  and  fever  heats,  followed 
by  violent  fits  of  shivering,  which  no  amount  of  natural 
warmth  could  mitigate.  My  faithful  Yamba  was  ter- 
ribly distressed  at  my  condition,  and  waited  upon  me 
with  most  tender  devotion ;  but  in  spite  of  all  that 
could  be  done  for  me,  I  grew  gradually  weaker,  until 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days  I  became  wildly  delirious. 
The  blacks,  too,  were  very  good  to  me,  and  doctored 
me,  in  their  quaint  native  way,  with  certain  leaves  and 
powders.  All  to  no  purpose,  however ;  and  for  several 
days  I  was  even  unable  to  recognise  my  Yamba.  Then 
the  fever  subsided  somewhat,  and  I  was  left  as  weak 
and  helpless  as  a  little  child. 

It  was  some  time  before  I  quite  recovered  from  the 


156   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

fever;  and  I  was  frequently  seized  with  distressing  fits 
of  shivering.  I  also  experienced  an  overwhelming 
desire  for  a  drink  of  milk  ;  why,  I  am  unable  to  say. 
Therefore,  when  some  of  the  blacks  told  me  that  wild 
buffalo  were  to  be  found  in  the  neighbourhood — beasts 
which  had  formerly  belonged  to  settlers,  but  were  now 
run  wild — I  resolved,  when  sufficiently  strong,  to  try 
and  capture  one  of  the  cows  for  the  sake  of  its  milk. 
Captain  Davis  ridiculed  the  idea,  and  assured  me  that 
it  was  only  possible  to  slay  one  with  a  rifle;  but  I 
determined  to  see  what  I  could  do. 

Yamba,  of  course,  accompanied  me  on  my  expe- 
dition, and  her  bushmanship  was  altogether  quite 
indispensable.  We  came  upon  buffalo  tracks  near  a 
large  water-hole,  and  here  we  each  climbed  a  gum-tree 
and  awaited  the  arrival  of  our  prey.  We  waited  a 
long  time,  but  were  at  length  rewarded  by  seeing  a 
big  cow  buffalo  and  her  calf  wandering  leisurely  in 
our  direction.  My  only  weapons  were  a  lasso  made 
out  of  green  kangaroo  hide,  fixed  to  the  end  of  a  long 
pole ;  and  my  bow  and  arrows.  I  slid  down  the  tree 
a  little  way,  and  when  the  calf  was  near  enough,  I 
gently  slipped  the  noose  over  its  neck,  and  promptly 
made  it  a  prisoner  under  the  very  nose  of  its 
astonished  mother,  who  bellowed  mournfully.  My 
success  so  elated  Yamba  that  she,  too,  slid  down  from 
her  hiding-place,  and  was  making  her  way  over  to  me 
and  the  calf,  when  suddenly  an  enormous  bull,  which  we 
had  not  previously  seen,  rushed  at  her  at  full  speed. 
Yamba  instantly  realised  her  danger,  and  swarmed  up  a 
tree  again  like  lightning,  just  as  the  great  brute  was 
upon  her.  I  called  out  to  her  to  attract  the  attention  of 
the  old  bull  whilst  I  attended  to  the  mother  and  calf.    I 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  157 

dropped  my  pole  to  which  the  lasso  was  attached,  and 
allowed  the  little  one  to  walk  quickly  away  with  it; 
but,  as  I  anticipated,  the  trailing  shaft  soon  caught 
between  the  stumps  of  some  trees,  and  made  the  calf 
a  more  secure  prisoner  than  ever.  It  was  a  curious 
repetition  of  the  story  of  the  two  whales.  The  mother 
walked  round  and  round,  and  appeared  to  be  in  the 
greatest  distress.  She  never  left  her  little  one's  side, 
but  continued  to  bellow  loudly,  and  lick  the  calf  to  coax 
it  away.  Quietly  sliding  down  my  tree,  I  made  my 
way  to  where  Yamba  was  still  holding  the  attention  of 
the  bull — a  fiery  brute  who  was  pawing  the  ground 
with  rage  at  the  foot  of  her  tree.  I  had  fitted  an  arrow 
to  my  bow,  and  was  preparing  to  shoot,  when,  unfor- 
tunately, the  bull  detected  the  noise  of  my  approach, 
and  rushed  straight  at  me.  I  confess  it  was  rather  a 
trying  moment,  but  I  never  lost  my  head,  feeling  con- 
fident of  my  skill  with  the  bow — which  I  had  practised 
off  and  on  ever  since  I  had  left  school  at  Montreux. 
I  actually  waited  until  the  charging  monster  was  within 
a  few  paces,  and  then  I  let  fly.  So  close  was  he  that 
not  much  credit  is  due  to  me  for  accurate  aim.  The 
arrow  fairly  transfixed  his  right  eye,  causing  him  to 
pull  up  on  his  haunches,  and  roar  with  pain. 

Yamba,  full  of  anxiety,  hurried  down  her  tree ;  but 
she  had  scarcely  reached  the  ground  when  the  baffled 
bull  wheeled  and  charged  her,  with  more  fury  than 
ever.  She  simply  glided  behind  a  tree,  and  then  I 
showed  myself  and  induced  the  bull  to  charge  me 
once  more.  Again  I  waited  until  he  was  almost  upon 
me,  and  then  I  sent  another  arrow  into  his  other  eye, 
blinding  him  completely.  On  this,  the  poor  brute 
brought    up    sharp,    and   commenced    to   back   in   an 


158   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

uncertain  way,  bellowing  with  pain.  I  forgot  all  my 
fever  in  the  excitement,  and  rushing  upon  the  beast 
with  my  tomahawk,  I  dealt  him  a  blow  on  the  side 
of  the  head  that  made  him  stagger.  I  brought  him  to 
the  earth  with  two  or  three  more  blows,  and  a  few 
minutes  later  had  administered  the  coup-de-grdce.  No 
sooner  was  the  big  bull  dead  than  I  determined  to  test 
the  efficacy  of  a  very  popular  native  remedy  for  fever 
— for  shivering  fits  still  continued  to  come  upon  me 
at  most  awkward  times,  usually  late  in  the  day.  No 
matter  how  much  grass  poor  Yamba  brought  me  as 
covering,  I  never  could  get  warm,  and  so  now  I 
thought  I  would  try  some  animal  heat. 

Scarce  had  life  left  the  body  of  the  prostrate  bull 
before  I  ripped  open  the  carcass  between  the  fore  and 
hind  legs  ;  and  after  remarking  to  Yamba,  "  I  am  going 
to  have  heat  this  time,"  I  crawled  into  the  interior.  My 
head,  however,  was  protruding  from  the  buffalo's  chest. 
Yamba  understood  perfectly  well  what  I  was  doing; 
and  when  I  told  her  I  was  going  to  indulge  in  a  long 
sleep  in  my  curious  resting-place,  she  said  she  would 
keep  watch  and  see  that  I  was  not  disturbed.  I  re- 
mained buried  in  the  bull's  interior  for  the  rest  of  the 
day  and  all  through  the  night.  Next  morning,  to  my 
amazement,  I  found  I  was  a  prisoner,  the  carcass 
having  got  cold  and  rigid,  so  that  I  had  literally  to 
be  dug  out.  As  I  emerged  I  presented  a  most  ghastly 
and  horrifying  spectacle.  My  body  was  covered  with 
congealed  blood,  and  even  my  long  hair  was  all  matted 
and  stiffened  with  it.  But  never  can  I  forget  the 
feeling  of  exhilaration  and  strength  that  took  posses- 
sion of  me  as  I  stood  there  looking  at  my  faithful 
companion.      /  was  absolutely  cui'ed — a  new  man,    a 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  159 

giant  of  strength  !  I  make  a  present  of  the  cure  to 
the  medical  profession. 

Without  delay  I  made  my  way  down  to  the  lagoon 
and  washed  myself  thoroughly,  scrubbing  myself  with 
a  kind  of  soapy  clay,  and  afterwards  taking  a  run  in 
order  to  get  dry.  This  extraordinary  system  of  apply- 
ing the  carcass  of  a  freshly  killed  animal  is  invariably 
resorted  to  by  the  natives  in  case  of  serious  illness,  and 
they  look  upon  it  as  an  all  but  infallible  cure.  Certainly 
it  was  surprisingly  efficacious  in  my  own  case. 

Next  day  we  directed  our  attention  to  the  capture 
of  the  cow,  which  was  still  wandering  around  her  im- 
prisoned little  one,  and  only  leaving  it  for  a  few  minutes 
at  a  time  in  order  to  get  food.  I  constructed  a  small 
fence  or  inclosure  of  sticks,  and  into  this  we  managed 
to  drive  the  cow.  We  then  kept  her  for  two  days 
without  food  and  water,  in  order  to  tame  her,  and  did 
not  even  let  her  little  calf  come  near  her.  We  then 
approached  her,  and  found  her  perfectly  subdued,  and 
willing  to  take  food  and  water  from  us  precisely  as 
though  she  were  the  gentlest  Alderney. 

I  found  I  was  even  able  to  milk  her;  and  I  can 
assure  you  that  I  never  tasted  anything  more  delicious 
in  my  life  than  the  copious  draughts  of  fresh  milk  I 
indulged  in  on  that  eventful  morning.  In  fact,  I  prac- 
tically lived  on  nothing  else  for  the  next  few  days,  and 
it  pulled  me  round  in  a  most  surprising  way.  The 
flesh  of  the  dead  buffalo  I  did  not  touch  myself,  but 
handed  it  over  to  the  blacks,  who  were  vastly  impressed 
by  my  prowess  as  a  mighty  hunter.  They  themselves 
had  often  tried  to  kill  buffalo  with  their  spears,  but  had 
never  succeeded.  I  removed  the  bull's  hide,  and  made 
a  big  rug  out   of  it,  which  I  found  very  serviceable 


i6o  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

indeed  in  subsequent  wet  seasons.      It  was  as  hard  as 
a  board,  and  nearly  half  an  inch  thick. 

When  I  returned  to  *'  Captain  Davis  "  and  the  rest  of 
my  friends  at  Raffles  Bay,  I  was  quite  well  and  strong 
once  more,  and  I  stayed  with  them  three  or  four 
months,  hunting  almost  every  day  (there  were  even 
wild  ponies  and  English  cattle — of  course,  relics  of  the 
old  settlement),  and  picking  up  all  the  information  I 
could.  I  had  many  conversations  with  Davis  himself, 
and  he  told  me  that  I  should  probably  find  white  men 
at  Port  Darwin,  which  he  said  was  between  three  and 
four  hundred  miles  away.  The  tribe  at  Port  Essington, 
I  may  mention,  only  numbered  about  fifty  souls. 
This  was  about  the  year  1868.  Captain  Davis — who 
was  passionately  fond  of  tobacco,  and  would  travel 
almost  any  distance  to  obtain  an  ounce  or  two  from 
the  Malay  beche-de-mer  fishers — pointed  out  to  me  a 
blazed  tree  near  his  camp  on  which  the  following 
inscription  was  cut : — 

LUDWIG  Leichhardt, 

Overland  from  Sydney, 

1847. 

It  was  therefore  evident  that  this  district  had  already 
been  visited  by  a  white  man ;  and  the  fact  that  he  had 
come  overland  filled  me  with  hopes  that  some  day  I, 
too,  might  return  to  civilisation  in  the  same  way.  The 
English-speaking  black  chief  assured  me  that  his 
father  had  acted  as  guide  to  Leichhardt,  but  whether 
the  latter  got  back  safely  to  Sydney  again  he  never 
knew.  The  white  traveller,  he  said,  left  Port  Essington 
in  a  ship. 

Having  considered  all  things,  I  decided  to  attempt 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  i6i 

to  reach  Port  Darwin  by  boat,  in  the  hope  of  finding 
Europeans  living  there.  At  first  I  thought  of  going 
overland,  but  in  discussing  my  plans  with  ''Captain 
Davis,"  he  told  me  that  I  would  have  to  cross  swamps, 
fords,  creeks,  and  rivers,  some  of  which  were  alive 
with  alligators.  He  advised  me  to  go  by  water,  and 
also  told  me  to  be  careful  not  to  be  drawn  into  a 
certain  large  bay  I  should  come  across,  because  of  the 
alligators  that  swarmed  on  its  shores.  The  bay  that 
he  warned  me  against  was,  I  think,  Van  Dieman's  Gulf. 
He  told  me  to  keep  straight  across  the  bay,  and  then 
pass  between  Melville  Island  and  the  main.  He  fitted 
me  out  with  a  good  stock  of  provisions,  including  a 
quantity  of  biche-de-mer^  cabbage-palm,  fruit,  &c.  I 
arranged  my  buffalo  skin  over  my  provisions  as  a  pro- 
tection, turtle-back  fashion.  Our  preparations  com- 
pleted, Yamba  and  I  and  the  dog  pushed  out  into  the 
unknown  sea  in  our  frail  canoe,  which  was  only  about 
fifteen  feet  long  and  fourteen  inches  wide.  Of  course, 
we  kept  close  in-shore  all  the  time,  and  made  pretty 
good  progress  until  we  passed  Apsley  Strait,  avoiding 
the  huge  Van  Dieman's  Gulf,  with  its  alligator-infested 
rivers  and  creeks.  We  must  have  been  close  to  Port 
Darwin  when,  with  little  or  no  warning,  a  terrific  storm 
arose,  and  quickly  carried  us  out  to  sea  in  a  south- 
westerly direction.  In  a  moment  our  frail  little  craft 
was  partially  swamped,  and  Yamba  and  I  were  com- 
pelled to  jump  overboard  and  hang  on  to  the  gunwale 
on  either  side  to  prevent  it  from  being  overwhelmed 
altogether.  This  was  about  a  fortnight  after  I  left 
Captain  Davis.  We  knew  that  if  we  were  swamped, 
all  our  belongings,  including  my  poor  Bruno,  my 
live  geese,  water,  and  other  provisions,  would  be  lost 

L 


1 62   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

in  the  raging  sea.  The  night  that  followed  was  per- 
haps one  of  the  most  appalling  experiences  that  ever 
befell  me ;  but  I  had  by  this  time  become  so  inured 
to  terrible  trials  that  I  merely  took  it  as  a  matter 
of  course. 

Imagine  for  yourself  the  scene.  The  giant  waves 
are  rolhng  mountains  high  ;  the  darkness  of  night  is 
gathering  round  us  fast,  and  I  and  my  heroic  wife  are 
immersed  in  the  tremendous  sea,  hanging  on  for  dear 
life  to  a  little  dug-out  canoe  only  fourteen  inches  wide. 
Although  we  were  soon  thoroughly  exhausted  with 
our  immersion  in  the  water,  we  dared  not  climb 
aboard.  Will  it  be  believed  that  all  night  long  we 
were  compelled  to  remain  in  the  sea,  clinging  to  the 
canoe,  half  drowned,  and  tossed  about  like  the  insig- 
nificant atoms  we  were  in  the  midst  of  the  stupendous 
waves,  which  were  literally  ablaze  with  phosphor- 
escent light  ?  Often  as  those  terrible  hours  crawled 
by,  I  would  have  let  go  my  hold  and  given  up  alto- 
gether were, it  not  for  Yamba's  cheery  and  encouraging 
voice,  which  I  heard  above  the  terrific  roar  of  the 
storm,  pointing  out  to  me  how  much  we  had  been 
through  already,  and  how  many  fearful  dangers  we 
had  safely  encountered  together.  It  seemed  to  me 
like  the  end  of  everything.  I  thought  of  a  certain 
poem  relating  to  a  man  in  a  desperate  situation, 
written,  I  believe,  by  an  American,  whose  name  I 
could  not  remember.  It  described  the  heart-breaking 
efforts  made  by  a  slave  to  obtain  his  freedom.  How 
bloodhounds  were  put  upon  his  track ;  how  he  is  at 
last  cornered  in  a  swamp,  and  as  he  looks  helplessly 
up  at  the  stars  he  asks  himself,  '*  Is  it  life,  or  is  it 
death  ? "     As  I  hung  on  to  the  little  dug-out,  chilled 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  163 

to  the  very  marrow,  and  more  than  half  drowned 
by  the  enormous  seas,  I  recalled  the  whole  poem  and 
applied  the  slave's  remarks  to  myself.  "  Can  it  be 
possible,"  I  said,  ^'  after  all  the  struggles  I  have  made 
against  varjnng  fortune,  that  I  am  to  .  meet  death 
now  ? "  I  was  in  absolute  despair.  Towards  the 
early  hours  of  the  morning  Yamba  advised  me  to 
get  into  the  canoe  for  a  spell,  but  she  herself  remained 
hanging  on  to  the  gunwale,  trying  to  keep  the  head 
of  the  little  canoe  before  the  immense  waves  that  were 
still  running.  I  was  very  cold  and  stiff,  and  found  it 
difficult  to  climb  aboard.  As  the  morning  advanced, 
the  sea  began  to  abate  somewhat,  and  presently  Yamba 
joined  me  in  the  canoe.  We  were,  however,  unable 
to  shape  our  course  for  any  set  quarter,  since  by  this 
time  we  were  out  of  sight  of  land  altogether,  and  had 
not  even  the  slightest  idea  as  to  our  position. 

All  that  day  we  drifted  aimlessly  about,  and  then, 
towards  evening,  a  perfect  calm  settled  on  the  sea. 
When  we  were  somewhat  rested  we  paddled  on  in 
a  direction  where  we  concluded  land  must  lie  (we 
steered  south-east  for  the  main) ;  and  in  the  course  of 
a  few  hours  we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  little 
rocky  island,  which  we  promptly  made  for  and  landed 
upon.  Here  we  obtained  food  in  plenty  in  the  form 
of  birds ;  but  drinking-water  was  not  to  be  found 
anywhere,  so  we  had  to  fall  back  on  the  small  stock 
we  always  carried  in  skins.  Judging  from  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  rocks,  and  the  smell  that  pervaded 
the  place,  I  imagined  that  this  must  be  a  guano  island. 
I  now  knew  that  we  were  near  Port  Darwin,  but  as  a 
fact  we  had  passed  it  in  the  great  storing  while  we 
were  fighting  for  our  lives.     We  slept  on  the  island 


1 64  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

that  night,  and  felt  very  much  better  next  morning 
when  we  started  out  on  our  voyage  once  more,  visiting 
every  bay  and  inlet.  Hope,  too,  began  to  reassert 
itself,  and  I  thought  that  after  all  we  might  be  able 
to  reach  Port  Darwin  in  spite  of  the  distance  we  must 
have  been  driven  out  of  our  course.  Several  islands 
studded  the  sea  through  which  we  were  now  steadily 
threading  our  way,  and  that  evening  we  landed  on  one 
of  these  and  camped  for  the  night.  Next  day  we  were 
off  again,  and  as  the  weather  continued  beautifully  fine 
we  made  splendid  progress. 

One  evening  a  few  days  after  the  storm,  as  we  were 
placidly  paddling  away,  I  saw  Yamba's  face  suddenly 
brighten  with  a  look  I  had  never  seen  on  it  before, 
and  I  felt  sure  this  presaged  some  extraordinary 
announcement.  She  would  gaze  up  into  the  heavens 
with  a  quick,  sudden  motion,  and  then  her  intelligent 
eyes  would  sparkle  like  the  stars  above.  I  questioned 
her,  but  she  maintained  an  unusual  reserve,  and,  as 
I  concluded  that  she  knew  instinctively  we  were  ap- 
proaching Port  Darwin,  I,  too,  felt  full  of  joy  and 
pleasure  that  the  object  of  our  great  journey  was  at 
length  about  to  be  achieved.  Alas !  what  awaited  me 
was  only  the  greatest  of  all  the  astounding  series  of 
disappointments — one  indeed  so  stunning  as  to  plunge 
me  into  the  very  blackest  depths  of  despair. 

Yamba  still  continued  to  gaze  up  at  the  stars,  and 
when  at  length  she  had  apparently  satisfied  herself 
upon  a  certain  point,  she  turned  to  me  with  a  shout 
of  excited  laughter  and  delight,  pointing  frantically  at 
a  certain  glowing  star.  Seeing  that  I  was  still  puzzled 
by  her  merriment,  she  cried,  *'That  star  is  one  you 
remember  well."     I  reflected  for  a  moment,  and  then 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  165 

the  whole  thing  came  to  me  hke  a  flash  of  hghtning. 
Yamba  was  approaching  her  own  home  once  more — the 
very  point  from  which  we  had  both  started  eighteen 
months  previously !  In  the  storm,  as  I  have  already 
said,  we  had  passed  Port  Darwin  altogether,  having 
been  driven  out  to  sea. 

I  tell  you,  my  heart  nearly  burst  when  I  recalled 
the  awful  privations  and  hardships  we  had  both  experi- 
enced so  recently ;  and  when  I  realised  that  all  these 
things  had  been  absolutely  in  vain,  and  that  once  more 
my  trembling  hopes  were  to  be  dashed  to  the  ground 
in  the  most  appalling  manner,  I  fell  back  into  the  canoe, 
utterly  crushed  with  horror  and  impotent  disappoint- 
ment. Was  there  ever  so  terrible  an  experience  ? 
Take  a  map  of  Australia,  and  see  for  yourself  my 
frightful  blunder — mistaking  the  west  coast  of  the  Gulf 
of  Carpentaria  for  the  eastern  waters  of  the  Cape  York 
Peninsula,  and  then  bHndly  groping  northward  and 
westward  in  search  of  the  settlement  of  Somerset, 
which  in  reality  lay  hundreds  of  miles  north-east  of 
me.  I  was  unaware  of  the  very  existence  of  the  great 
Gulf  of  Carpentaria.  But  were  it  not  for  having  had 
to  steer  north  to  get  out  of  the  waterless  plains,  I 
might  possibly  have  reached  the  north-eastern  coast  of 
the  continent  in  due  time,  avoiding  the  Roper  River 
altogether. 

Yamba  knelt  by  my  side  and  tried  to  comfort  me  in  her 
own  sweet,  quaint  way,  and  she  pictured  to  me — scant 
consolation — how  glad  her  people  would  be  to  have  us 
both  back  amongst  them  once  more.  She  also  urged 
what  a  great  man  I  might  be  among  her  people  if  only 
I  would  stay  and  make  my  home  with  them.  Even 
her  voice,  however,  fell  dully  on  my  ears,  for  I  was 


1 66  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

fairly  mad  with  rage  and  despair — with  myself,  for 
not  having  gone  overland  to  Port  Darwin  from  Port 
Essington,  as,  indeed,  I  should  most  certainly  have 
done  were  it  not  that  Davis  had  assured  me  the 
greater  part  of  the  journey  lay  through  deadly  swamps 
and  creeks,  and  great  waters  swarming  with  alligators. 
I  had  even  had  in  my  mind  the  idea  of  attempting  to 
reach  Sydney  overland !  but  thought  I  would  first  of 
all  see  what  facilities  in  the  way  of  reaching  civilisa- 
tion Port  Darwin  had  to  offer.  Now,  however,  I  was 
back  again  in  Cambridge  Gulf, — in  the  very  spot  I  had 
left  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  and  where  I  had  landed 
with  my  four  blacks  from  the  island  sand-spit.  But 
you,  my  readers,  shall  judge  of  my  feelings. 

We  landed  on  an  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  gulf, 
and  Yamba  made  smoke-signals  to  her  friends  on  the 
mainland,  telling  them  of  our  return.  We  resolved  it 
would  never  do  to  confess  we  had  been  driven  back. 
No,  we  had  roamed  about  and  had  come  back  to  our 
dear  friends  of  our  own  free-will,  feeling  there  was  no 
place  like  home !  Just  think  what  a  role  this  was  for 
me  to  play, — with  my  whole  being  thrilling  with  an 
agony  of  helpless  rage  and  bitter  disappointment. 

This  time,  however,  we  did  not  wait  for  the  blacks 
to  come  out  and  meet  us,  but  paddled  straight  for  the 
beach,  where  the  chiefs  and  all  the  tribe  were  as- 
sembled in  readiness  to  receive  us.  The  first  poignant 
anguish  being  passed,  and  the  warmth  of  welcome 
being  so  cordial  and  excessive  (they  cried  with  joy),  I 
began  to  feel  a  little  easier  in  my  mind  and  more  re- 
signed to  inexorable  fate.  The  usual  ceremony  of 
nose-rubbing  on  shoulders  was  gone  through,  and 
almost   every   native    present    expressed    his   or    her 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  167 

individual  delight  at  seeing  us  again.  Then  they 
besieged  us  with  questions,  for  we  were  now  great 
travellers.  A  spacious  "  humpy "  or  hut  was  built 
without  delay,  and  the  blacks  vied  with  one  another 
in  bringing  me  things  which  I  sorely  needed,  such  as 
fish,  turtles,  roots,  and  eggs. 

That  evening  a  corroboree  on  a  gigantic  scale  was 
held  in  my  honour;  and  on  every  side  the  blacks  mani- 
fested great  rejoicing  at  my  return, — which,  of  course, 
they  never  dreamed  was  involuntary.  Human  nature 
is,  as  I  found,  the  same  the  world  over,  and  one 
reason  for  my  warm  welcome  was,  that  my  blacks  had 
just  been  severely  thrashed  by  a  neighbouring  tribe, 
and  were  convinced  that  if  I  would  help  them  to 
retaliate,  they  could  not  fail  to  inflict  tremendous 
punishment  upon  their  enemies.  By  this  time,  having 
become,  as  I  said  before,  somewhat  resigned  to  my 
fate,  I  consented  to  lead  them  in  their  next  battle,  on 
condition  that  two  shield-bearers  were  provided  to 
protect  me  from  the  enemy's  spears.  This  being  the 
first  time  I  had  ever  undertaken  war  operations  with 
my  friends,  I  determined  that  the  experiment  should 
run  no  risk  of  failure,  and  that  my  dignity  should  in 
no  way  suffer.  I  declared,  first  of  all,  that  I  would 
choose  as  my  shield-bearers  the  two  most  expert  men 
in  the  tribe.  There  was  much  competition  for  these 
honoured  posts,  and  many  warriors  demonstrated  their 
skill  before  me. 

At  length  I  chose  two  stalwart  fellows,  named 
respectively  Warriga  and  Bommera,  and  every  day  for 
a  week  they  conducted  some  trial  manoeuvres  with 
their  friends.  There  would  be  a  kind  of  ambush  pre- 
pared, and  flights  of  spears  would  be  hurled  at  me. 


1 68   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

only  to  be  warded  off  with  astonishing  dexterity  by 
my  alert  attendants.  All  I  was  provided  with  was  my 
steel  tomahawk  and  bow  and  arrows.  I  never  really 
became  expert  with  the  spear  and  shield,  and  I  knew 
only  too  well  that  if  I  handled  these  clumsily  I  should 
immediately  lose  prestige  among  the  blacks. 

After  a  week  or  two  of  practice  and  sham  combats, 
I  felt  myself  pretty  safe  with  my  two  protectors,  and 
I  then  began  organising  an  army  to  lead  against  the 
enemy.  Altogether  I  collected  about  lOO  fighting 
men,  each  armed  with  a  bundle  of  throwing  spears,  a 
shield  made  of  light  wood,  and  a  short,  heavy  waddy 
or  club  for  use  at  close  quarters.  When  everything 
was  in  readiness,  I  marched  off  at  the  head  of  my 
"  army  "  and  invaded  the  enemy's  country.  We  were 
followed  by  the  usual  crowd  of  women-folk,  who  saw 
to  the  commissariat  department  and  did  the  transport 
themselves.  On  the  first  day  out,  we  had  to  ford  a 
large  stream — a  branch  of  the  Victoria  River,  I  think 
— and  at  length  reached  a  suitable  place  in  which  to 
engage  the  enemy.  It  is  difficult  for  me  to  fix  the  exact 
locality,  but  I  should  judge  it  to  be  between  Murchison 
and  Newcastle  ranges.  The  country  in  which  the 
operations  took  place  was  a  fine  open  grassy  plain, 
thinly  skirted  with  trees  and  with  mountains  almost 
encircling  it  in  the  distance. 

I  ought  here  to  describe  my  personal  appearance  on 
this  important  day,  when,  for  the  first  time,  I  posed  as 
a  great  chief,  and  led  my  people  into  battle,  filled  with 
the  same  enthusiasm  that  animated  them.  My  hair  was 
built  up  on  strips  of  whalebone  to  a  height  of  nearly 
two  feet  from  my  head,  and  was  decorated  with  black 
and  white  cockatoo  feathers.     My  face,  which  had  now 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  169 

become  very  dark  from  exposure  to  the  sun,  was  deco- 
rated in  four  colours — ^yellow,  white,  black,  and  red. 

There  were  two  black-and-white  arched  stripes 
across  the  forehead,  and  a  yellow  curving  line  across 
each  cheek  under  the  eye.  I  also  wore  a  fairly  long 
beard,  moustache,  and  side-whiskers.  There  were 
four  different-coloured  stripes  on  each  arm,  whilst  on 
the  body  were  four  vari-coloured  stripes,  two  on  each 
side ;  and  a  long,  yellow,  curving  stripe  extended  across 
the  stomach,  belt-wise.  Around  my  middle  I  wore  a 
kind  of  double  apron  of  emu  skin,  with  feathers. 
There  were  other  stripes  of  different-coloured  ochres 
on  my  legs,  so  that  altogether  you  may  imagine  I 
presented  a  terrifying  appearance.  Of  this,  however, 
I  soon  grew  quite  oblivious — a  fact  which  I  afterwards 
had  occasion  bitterly  to  regret.  It  were,  indeed,  well 
for  me  that  I  had  on  subsequent  occasions  realised 
better  the  bizarre  nature  of  my  appearance,  for  had  I 
done  so  I  would  probably  have  reached  civilisation 
years  before  I  did. 

At  this  period,  then,  you  find  me  a  fully  equipped 
war  chief  of  the  cannibal  blacks,  leading  them  on  to 
battle  attired  as  one  of  their  own  chiefs  in  every 
respect,  and  with  nearly  all  their  tribal  marks  on  my 
body.  When  we  reached  the  battle-ground,  my  men 
sent  up  smoke-signals  of  defiance,  announcing  the  fact 
of  our  invasion,  and  challenging  the  enemy  to  come 
down  from  the  mountains  and  fight  us.  This  challenge 
was  promptly  responded  to  by  other  smoke-signals, 
but  as  at  least  a  day  must  elapse  before  our  antagonists 
could  arrive  I  spent  the  interval  in  devising  a  plan  of 
battle — oddly  enough,  on  the  lines  of  a  famous  historic 
Swiss  encounter  at  Grandson  five  or  six  centuries  ago. 


I/O   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

I  arranged  that  fifty  or  sixty  men,  under  the  leadership 
of  a  chief,  should  occu]^  some  high  ground  in  our 
rear,  to  form  a  kind  of  ambush. 

They  were  also  to  act  as  a  reserve,  and  were  in- 
structed to  come  rushing  to  our  assistance  when  I 
signalled  for  them,  yelling  out  their  weird  war-cry  of 
*^  Warra-hoo-oo, — warra-hoo-oo  !  "  I  concluded  that 
this  in  itself  would  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  our 
opponents,  who  were  accustomed  to  see  the  whole  force 
engaged  at  one  time,  and  knew  nothing  about  troops 
held  in  reserve,  or  tactics  of  any  kind  whatsoever. 
The  native  method  of  procedure,  as,  I  think,  I  have 
already  remarked,  was  usually  to  dash  pell-mell  at  one 
another  after  the  abuse  and  fight,  until  one  side  or  the 
other  drew  blood,  without  which  no  victory  could  be 
gained. 

Just  before  the  battle  commenced  I  had  a  real 
inspiration  which  practically  decided  the  affair  without 
any  fighting  at  all.  It  occurred  to  me  that  if  I  mounted 
myself  on  stilts,  some  eighteen  inches  high,  and  shot 
an  arrow  or  two  from  my  bow,  the  enemy  would  turn 
tail  and  bolt.  And  so  it  turned  out.  As  the  armies 
approached  one  another  in  full  battle  array  they  pre- 
sented quite  an  imposing  appearance,  and  when  a 
suitable  distance  separated  them  they  halted  for  the 
inevitable  abusive  parley.  Into  the  undignified  abuse, 
needless  to  remark,  I  did  not  enter,  but  kept  well  in 
the  background.  The  spokesman  of  my  tribe  accused 
the  enemy  of  being  without  pluck — said  that  they 
were  cowards,  and  would  soon  have  their  livers  eaten 
by  the  invaders.  There  was  any  amount  of  spear- 
brandishing,  yelling,  and  gesticulating.  For  these 
blacks  apparently   find   it  impossible  to  come  up   to 


THE  ENEMY  TURNED  AND  FLED 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   173 

actual  fighting  pitch  without  first  being  worked  up  to 
an  extraordinary  degree  of  excitement. 

When  at  length  the  abuse  had  got  perfectly  delirious, 
and  the  first  spear  was  about  to  be  thrown,  I  dashed 
to  the  front  on  my  stilts.  Several  spears  were  launched 
at  me,  but  my  shield-bearers  turned  them  on  one  side. 
I  then  shot  half-a-dozen  arrows  into  the  enemy's  ranks 
in  almost  as  many  seconds.  The  consternation  pro- 
duced by  this  flight  of  ''  invisible  spears  "  was  perfectly 
indescribable.  With  a  series  of  appalling  yells  the 
enemy  turned  and  fled  pell-mell.  My  men  gave  chase, 
and  wounded  many  of  them.  In  the  midst  of  the  rout 
(the  ruling  thought  being  always  uppermost),  it  occurred 
to  me  that  it  might  be  a  useful  stroke  of  business  to 
make  friends  with  this  vanquished  tribe,  since  they  might 
possibly  be  of  service  to  me  in  that  journey  to  civilisa- 
tion, the  idea  of  which  I  never  really  abandoned  from 
the  day  I  was  cast  upon  my  little  sand-spit.  Further- 
more, it  flashed  across  my  mind  that  if  I  made  these 
nomadic  tribes  interested  in  me  and  my  powers,  news 
of  my  isolation  might  travel  enormous  distances  inland 
— perhaps  even  to  the  borders  of  civilisation  itself. 

I  communicated  my  ideas  to  my  men,  and  they 
promptly  entered  into  my  views.  They  consented  to 
help  me  with  great  readiness.  While  I  was  speaking 
with  them,  the  vanquished  warriors  had  re-formed  into 
position  some  three  or  four  hundred  yards  away,  and 
were  watching  our  movements  with  much  curiosity.  I 
now  abandoned  my  stilts  and  my  bow  and  arrows,  and 
marched  off  with  my  chiefs  in  the  direction  of  our  late 
opponents. 

As  we  approached,  with  branches  in  our  hands  as 
flags  of  truce,  I  signed  to  the  startled  men  that  we 


1/4  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

wished  to  be  friendly ;  and  when  we  halted,  several 
chiefs  came  forward  unarmed  from  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy  to  confer  with  us.  At  first  they  were  much 
surprised  at  my  overtures,  but  I  soon  convinced  them 
of  my  sincerity,  and  they  at  length  consented  to  accept 
my  offers  of  friendship.  They  acknowledged  at  once 
my  superiority  and  that  of  my  men,  and  presently  all 
the  chiefs  came  forward  voluntarily  and  squatted  at  my 
feet  in  token  of  subjection.  The  two  armies  then 
united,  and  we  all  returned  to  a  great  encampment, 
where  the  women  prepared  a  truly  colossal  feast  for 
conquerors  and  conquered  alike,  and  the  greatest 
harmony  prevailed.  It  was  magnificent,  but  I  am  sure 
it  was  not  war.  The  braves  of  both  sides  decorated 
themselves  with  many  pigments  in  the  evening,  and  the 
two  tribes  united  in  one  gigantic  corroboree^  which  was 
kept  up  all  night,  and  for  several  days  afterwards.  We 
remained  encamped  in  this  district  for  about  a  week, 
holding  continuous  corroboj-ee^  and  each  day  becoming 
more  and  more  friendly  with  our  late  enemies.  The 
country  abounded  in  game,  and  as  the  rivers  were  also 
well  stocked  with  fish  the  supply  of  food  was  abundant. 
At  the  end  of  the  week,  however,  we  retired  to  our 
respective  homes,  but,  strangely  enough,  I  felt  I  could 
no  longer  settle  down  to  the  old  life  among  my  friendly 
blacks. 

The  old  desire  for  wandering  came  over  me,  and  I 
resolved  that  some  day  in  the  near  future  I  would  make 
yet  another  attempt  to  reach  civilisation,  this  time 
striking  directly  south.  For  a  time,  however,  I  forced 
myself  to  remain  content,  accompanying  the  men  on 
their  hunting  expeditions  and  going  out  fishing  with 
my  devoted  Yamba. 


CHAPTER   IX 

The  children's  sports — A  terrible  ordeal — Queer  notions  of  beauty — 
How  little  girls  are  taught — Domestic  quarrels — Telltale  foot- 
prints— I  grow  weary — Off  on  a  long  cruise — Astounding  news — 
A  foreign  tongue — Yamba  has  seen  the  girls — A  remarkable 
"letter" — A  queer  notion  of  decoration — Yamba  as  "advance 
agent" — I  meet  the  girls — A  distressing  interview — ^Jealousy  of 
the  native  women. 

1WAS  much  interested  in  the  children  of  the  blacks, 
and  observed  all  their  interesting  ways.  It  is  not 
too  much  to  say  in  the  case  of  both  boys  and  girls  that 
they  can  swim  as  soon  as  they  can  walk.  There  is  no 
squeamishness  whatever  on  the  part  of  the  mothers, 
who  leave  their  little  ones  to  tumble  into  rivers,  and 
remain  out  naked  in  torrential  rains,  and  generally 
shift  for  themselves.  From  the  time  the  boys  are 
three  years  old  they  commence  throwing  toy  spears  at 
one  another  as  a  pastime.  For  this  purpose,  long  dry 
reeds,  obtained  from  the  swamps,  are  used,  and  the 
little  fellows  practise  throwing  them  at  one  another 
from  various  distances,  the  only  shields  allowed  being 
the  palms  of  their  own  little  hands.  They  never  seem 
to  tire  of  the  sport,  and  acquire  amazing  dexterity  at  it. 
At  the  age  of  nine  or  ten  they  abandon  the  reeds  and 
adopt  a  heavier  spear,  with  a  wooden  shaft  and  a  point 
of  hard  wood  or  bone.  All  kinds  of  interesting  com- 
petitions are  constantly  organised  to  test  the  boys'  skill, 


1/6   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

the  most  valued  prizes  being  the  approbation  of  parents 
and  elders. 

A  small  ring  of  hide,  or  creeper,  is  suspended  from  the 
branch  of  a  tree,  and  the  competitors  have  to  throw 
their  spears  clean  through  it  at  a  distance  of  twenty 
paces.  All  the  chiefs  and  fighting  men  of  the  tribe 
assemble  to  witness  these  competitions,  and  occasion- 
ally some  little  award  is  made  in  the  shape  of  anklets 
and  bangles  of  small  shells,  strung  together  with  human 
hair.  The  boys  are  initiated  into  the  ranks  of  the 
"  men  and  warriors  "  when  they  reach  the  age  of  about 
seventeen. 

This  initiation  ceremony,  by  the  way,  is  of  a  very 
extraordinary  character.  Many  of  the  details  cannot 
be  published  here.  As  a  rule,  it  takes  place  in 
the  spring,  when  the  mimosa  is  in  bloom,  and  other 
tribes  come  from  all  parts  to  eat  the  nuts  and  gum. 
We  will  say  that  there  are,  perhaps,  twenty  youths 
to  undergo  the  ordeal,  which  is  conducted  far  from 
all  camps  and  quite  out  of  the  sight  of  women  and 
children.  The  candidate  prepares  himself  by  much 
fasting,  giving  up  meat  altogether  for  at  least  a  week 
before  the  initiation  ceremony  commences.  In  some 
cases  candidates  are  despatched  on  a  tramp  extending 
over  many  days;  and  such  implicit  faith  is  placed  in 
their  honour  that  judges  are  not  even  sent  with  them 
to  see  that  everything  is  carried  out  fairly.  They 
must  accomplish  this  task  within  a  given  period,  and 
without  partaking  of  either  food  or  water  during  the 
whole  time.  No  matter  how  great  the  temptation  may 
be  on  the  route,  they  conform  strictly  to  the  rules  of 
the  test,  and  would  as  soon  think  of  running  themselves 
through  with  a  spear,  as  of  seeking  a  water-hole.     The 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  177 

inspectors  who  judge  at  this  amazing  examination  are, 
of  course,  the  old  and  experienced  chiefs. 

After  the  fasting  comes  the  ordeal  proper.  The 
unfortunate  candidate  presents  himself  before  one  of  the 
examiners,  and  settles  his  face  into  a  perfectly  stoical 
expression.  He  is  then  stabbed  repeatedly  on  the 
outside  of  the  thighs  and  in  the  arms  (never  once  is 
an  artery  cut) ;  and  if  he  remains  absolutely  statuesque 
at  each  stab,  he  comes  through  the  most  trying  part  of 
the  ordeal  with  flying  colours.  A  motion  of  the  lips, 
however,  or  a  mutter — these  are  altogether  fatal.  Not 
even  a  toe  must  move  in  mute  agony ;  nor  may  even 
a  muscle  of  the  eyelid  give  an  uneasy  and  involuntary 
twitch.  If  the  candidate  fails  in  a  minor  degree,  he  is 
promptly  put  back,  to  come  up  again  for  the  next 
examination ;  but  in  the  event  of  his  being  unable  to 
stand  the  torture,  he  is  contemptuously  told  to  go  and 
herd  with  the  women — than  which  there  is  no  more 
humiliating  expression. 

While  yet  the  candidate's  wounds  are  streaming 
with  blood,  he  is  required  to  run  with  lightning  speed 
for  two  or  three  miles  and  fetch  back  from  a  given  spot 
a  kind  of  toy  lance  planted  in  the  ground.  Then,  having 
successfully  passed  the  triple  ordeals  of  fasting,  stab- 
bing, and  running  against  time,  and  without  food  and 
water,  the  candidate,  under  the  eyes  of  his  admiring 
father,  is  at  length  received  into  the  ranks  of  the  bravest 
warriors,  and  is  allowed  to  take  a  wife.  At  the  close 
of  the  ceremony,  the  flow  of  blood  from  the  candidate's 
really  serious  flesh-wounds  is  stopped  by  means  of 
spiders'  webs,  powdered  charcoal,  and  dry  clay  powder. 

With  regard  to  the  girls,  I  am  afraid  they  received 
but  scant  consideration. 

M 


178  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Judged  by  our  standard,  the  women  were  far  from 
handsome.  They  had  very  bright  eyes,  broad,  flat 
noses,  low,  narrow  foreheads,  and  heavy  chins.  But 
there  are  comely  exceptions.  And  yet  at  big  corroborees 
on  the  occasion  of  a  marriage,  the  men  always  chanted 
praises  to  the  virtue  and  beauty  of  the  bride ! 

The  girl  who  possessed  an  exceptionally  large  and 
flat  nose  was  considered  a  great  beauty.  Talking 
about  noses,  it  was  to  me  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the 
blacks  consider  a  warrior  with  a  big  nose  and  large 
distended  nostrils  a  man  possessed  of  great  staying 
power.  For  one  thing,  they  consider  his  breathing 
apparatus  exceptionally  perfect. 

As  a  general  rule  (there  are  exceptions  in  the  case 
of  a  very  "beautiful"  woman),  when  a  woman  dies 
she  is  not  even  buried ;  she  simply  lies  where  she  has 
fallen  dead,  and  the  camp  moves  on  to  another  place 
and  never  returns  to  the  unholy  spot.  And  it  may 
be  mentioned  here  that  the  blacks  never  allude  to 
a  dead  person  by  name,  as  they  have  a  great  horror 
of  departed  spirits.  And  so  childish  and  suspicious 
are  they,  that  they  sometimes  even  cut  off  the  feet  of 
a  dead  man  to  prevent  his  running  about  and  frighten- 
ing them  at  inconvenient  moments.  I  used  to  play 
upon  their  fears,  going  out  into  the  bush  after  dark, 
and  pretending  to  commune  with  the  evil  spirits.  The 
voice  of  these  latter  was  produced  by  means  of  reed 
whistles.  Once  I  made  myself  a  huge,  hideous  mask 
out  of  a  kangaroo  skin,  with  holes  slit  in  it  for  the 
nose,  mouth,  and  eyes.  I  would  don  this  strange 
garb  in  the  evenings,  and  prowl  about  the  vicinity  of 
the  camp,  holding  blazing  torches  behind  the  mask,  and 
emitting  strange  noises — sometimes  howling  like  a  wolf 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  179 

and  at  others  shouting  aloud  in  my  natural  voice.  On 
these  occasions  the  blacks  thought  I  was  in  my  natural 
element  as  a  spirit.  But  they  never  ventured  to 
follow  me  or  attempted  to  satisfy  themselves  that  I 
was  not  fooling  them  all  the  while.  Yamba,  of  course, 
knew  the  joke,  and  as  a  rule  helped  me  to  dress  for  the 
farce,  but  she  took  good  care  never  to  tell  any  one  the 
secret.  No  doubt  had  the  blacks  ever  learned  that  it 
was  all  done  for  effect  on  my  part,  the  result  would 
have  been  very  serious ;  but  I  knew  I  was  pretty 
secure  because  of  the  abnormal  superstition  prevalent 
among  them. 

The  women,  as  I  have  before  hinted,  are  treated  in 
a  horribly  cruel  manner,  judged  from  our  standpoint ; 
but  in  reality  they  know  not  what  cruelty  is,  because 
they  are  absolutely  ignorant  of  kindness.  They  are 
the  beasts  of  burden,  to  be  felled  to  the  earth  with  a 
bludgeon  when  they  err  in  some  trivial  respect;  and 
when  camp  is  moved  each  woman  carries  virtually  the 
whole  household  and  the  entire  worldly  belongings  of 
the  family.  Thus  it  is  a  common  sight  to  see  a  woman 
carrying  a  load  consisting  of  one  or  two  children  and 
a  quantity  of  miscellaneous  implements,  such  as  heavy 
grindstones,  stone  hatchets,  sewing-bones,  yam-sticks, 
&c.  During  the  shifting  of  the  camp  the  braves  them- 
selves stalk  along  practically  unencumbered,  save  only 
for  their  elaborate  shield,  three  spears  (never  more), 
and  a  stone  tomahawk  stuck  in  their  belt  of  woven 
opossum  hair.  The  men  do  not  smoke,  knowing 
nothing  of  tobacco,  but  their  principal  recreation  and 
relaxation  from  the  incessant  hunting  consists  in  the 
making  of  their  war  weapons,  which  is  a  very  import- 
ant part  of  their  daily  life.     They  will  even  fell  a  whole 


1 80  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

tree,  as  has  already  been  explained,  to  make  a  single 
spear  shaft.  As  to  the  shield,  the  elaborate  carving 
upon  it  corresponds  closely  with  the  prowess  of  the 
owner ;  and  the  more  laurels  he  gains,  the  more  intri- 
cate and  elaborate  becomes  the  carving  on  his  shield. 
Honour  prevents  undue  pretence. 

But  we  have  wandered  away  from  the  consideration 
of  the  girl-children.  The  baby  girls  play  with  their 
brothers  and  participate  in  their  fights  until  they  are 
perhaps  ten  years  of  age.  They  are  then  expected  to 
accompany  their  mothers  on  the  daily  excursions  in 
search  of  roots.  When  the  little  girls  are  first  taken 
out  b}"  their  mothers  they  are  instructed  in  the  use  of 
the  yam-stick,  with  which  the  roots  are  dug  up  out 
of  the  earth.  The  stick  used  by  the  women  is  gene- 
rally three  feet  or  four  feet  long,  but  the  girl  novices 
use  a  short  one  about  fifteen  inches  in  length.  Each 
woman,  as  I  have  said  elsewhere,  is  also  provided  with 
a  reed  basket  or  net,  in  which  to  hold  the  roots,  this 
being  usually  woven  out  of  strings  of  prepared  bark ; 
or,  failing  that,  native  flax  or  palm  straw. 

But  the  unfortunate  wife  occasionally  makes  the 
acquaintance  of  the  heavy  yam-stick  in  a  very  un- 
pleasant, not  to  say  serious,  manner.  Of  course,  there 
are  domestic  rows.  We  will  suppose  that  the  husband 
has  lately  paid  a  great  amount  of  attention  to  one  of 
his  younger  wives — a  circumstance  which  naturally 
gives  great  offence  to  one  of  the  older  women.  This 
wife,  when  she  has  an  opportunity  and  is  alone  with 
her  husband,  commences  to  sing  or  chant  a  plaint — a 
little  thing  of  quite  her  own  composing. 

Into  this  song  she  weaves  all  the  abuse  which  long 
experience  tells  her  will  lash  her  husband  up  to  boiling- 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF 


i8i 


point.     The  later  stanzas  complain  that  the  singer  has 
been  taken  from  her  own  home  amono^  a  nation  of  real 


warriors  to  live  among  a  gan 


g  of  skulking  cowards, 


^ri^ 


V 


ABUSINCx   THE   HUSBAND 


whose  hearts,  livers,  and  other  vital  organs  are  not  at 
all  up  to  the  standard  of  her  people. 

The  epithets  are  carefully  arranged  up  a  scale  until 
they   reach    bandy-legged — an    utterly   unpardonable 


I  82  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

insult.  But  there  is,  beyond  this,  one  other  unpubHsh- 
able  remark,  which  causes  the  husband  to  take  up  the 
yam-stick  and  fell  the  singer  with  one  tremendous  blow, 
which  is  frequently  so  serious  as  to  disable  her  for  many 
days.  The  other  women  at  once  see  to  their  sister,  who 
has  incurred  the  wrath  of  her  lord,  and  rub  her  wounds 
with  weird  medicaments.  The  whole  shocking  busi- 
ness is  regarded  as  quite  an  ordinary  affair ;  and  after 
the  sufferer  is  able  to  get  about  again  she  bears  her 
husband  not  the  slightest  ill-feeling.  You  see,  she 
has  had  her  say  and  paid  for  it. 

The  girls,  as  they  grow  up,  are  taught  to  cook 
according  to  the  native  fashion,  and  are  also  required 
to  build  ovens  in  the  earth  or  sand ;  make  the  fires, 
build  "break- winds,"  and  generally  help  their  mothers 
in  preparing  meals.  When  at  length  the  meal  is  cooked, 
the  manner  of  eating  it  is  very  peculiar.  First  of 
all,  the  women  retire  into  the  background.  The  lord 
and  master  goes  and  picks  out  the  tit-bits  for  him- 
self, and  then  sits  down  to  eat  them  oif  a  small 
sheet  of  bark.  More- often,  however,  he  simply  tears 
the  meat  in  pieces  with  his  hands.  During  his  meal, 
the  wives  and  children  are  collected  behind  at  a  re- 
spectful distance,  awaiting  their  own  share.  Then,  as 
the  warrior  eats,  he  literally  hurls  certain  oddments 
over  his  shoulder,  which  are  promptly  pounced  upon 
by  the  wives  and  children  in  waiting.  It  sometimes 
happens,  however,  that  a  favourite  child — a  boy  in- 
variably, never  a  girl  (it  is  the  girls  who  are  eaten 
by  the  parents  whenever  there  are  any  superfluous 
children  to  be  got  rid  of) — will  approach  his  father 
and  be  fed  with  choice  morsels  from  the  great  man's 
"plate." 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  183 

Each  tribe  has  its  own  particular  country  over 
which  it  roams  at  pleasure,  and  the  boundaries  are 
defined  by  trees,  hillocks,  mountains,  rocks,  creeks, 
and  water-holes.  And  from  these  natural  features 
the  tribes  occasionally  get  their  names.  Outside  the 
tribal  boundary — which  often  incloses  a  vast  area — 
the  blacks  never  go,  except  on  a  friendly  visit  to  a 
neighbouring  camp.  Poaching  is  one  of  the  things 
punishable  with  death,  and  even  if  any  woman  is 
caught  hunting  for  food  in  another  country  she  is 
seized  and  punished.  I  will  tell  you  later  on  how 
even  Yamba  **put  her  foot"  in  it  in  this  way. 

The  blacks  are  marvellously  clever  at  tracking  a 
man  by  his  footprints,  and  a  poacher  from  a  neigh- 
bouring tribe  never  escapes  their  vigilance,  even  though 
he  succeeds  in  returning  to  his  own  people  without 
being  actually  captured.  So  assiduously  do  these 
blacks  study  the  footprints  of  people  they  know  and 
are  friendly  with,  that  they  can  tell  at  once  whether 
the  trespasser  is  an  enemy  or  not;  and  if  it  be  a 
stranger,  a  punitive  expedition  is  at  once  organised 
against  his  tribe. 

Gradually  I  came  to  think  that  each  man's  track 
must  have  an  individuaHty  about  it  quite  as  remark- 
able as  the  finger-prints  investigated  by  Galton  and 
Bertillon.  The  blacks  could  even  tell  a  man's  name 
and  many  other  things  about  him,  solely  from  his 
tracks — how,  it  is  of  course  impossible  for  me  to  say. 
I  have  often  known  my  blacks  to  follow  a  man's  track 
over  Jiardrocksy  where  even  a  disturbed  leaf  proved  an 
infalHble  clue,  yielding  a  perfectly  miraculous  amount 
of  information.  They  will  know  whether  a  leaf  has 
been  turned  over  b}^  the  wind  or  by  human  agency! 


1 84  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

But  to  continue  my  narrative.  Yamba  was  very 
anxious  that  I  should  stay  and  make  my  home  among 
her  people,  and  so,  with  the  assistance  of  ether  women, 
she  built  me  a  substantial  beehive-shaped  hut,  fully 
twenty  feet  in  diameter  and  ten  feet  high.  She  pointed 
out  to  me  earnestly  that  I  had  everything  I  could  pos- 
sibly wish  for,  and  that  I  might  be  a  very  great  man 
indeed  in  the  country  if  only  I  would  take  a  prominent 
part  in  the  affairs  of  the  tribe.  She  also  mentioned  that 
so  great  was  my  prowess  and  prestige,  that  if  I  wished 
I  might  take  unto  myself  a  whole  army  of  wives  ! — 
the  number  of  wives  being  the  sole  token  of  greatness 
among  these  people.  You  see  they  had  to  be  fed,  and 
that  implied  many  great  attributes  of  skill  and  strength. 
Nevertheless,  I  pined  for  civilisation,  and  never  let  a 
day  go  by  without  scanning  the  bay  and  the  open  sea 
for  a  passing  sail.  The  natives  told  me  they  had  seen 
ships  at  various  times,  and  that  attempts  had  even 
been  made  to  reach  them  in  catamarans,  but  without 
success,  so  far  out  at  sea  were  the  vessels  passing. 

Gradually,  about  nine  months  after  my  strange  return 
to  my  Cambridge  Gulf  home,  there  came  a  time  when 
life  became  so  monotonous  that  I  felt  I  must  have  a 
change  of  some  sort,  or  else  go  mad.  I  was  on  the 
very  best  of  terms  with  all  my  blacks,  but  their  mode 
of  living  was  repulsive  to  me.  I  began  to  loathe 
the  food,  and  the  horrible  cruelty  to  the  women  fre- 
quently sickened  me.  Whenever  I  saw  one  of  these 
poor  patient  creatures  felled,  bleeding,  to  the  earth,  I 
felt  myself  being  worked  up  into  a  state  of  dangerous 
nervous  excitement,  and  I  longed  to  challenge  the 
brutal  assailant  as  a  murderous  enemy.  Each  time, 
however,  I   sternly  compelled   myself  to  restrain  my 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  185 

feelings.  At  length  the  spirit  of  unrest  grew  so  strong 
that  I  determined  to  try  a  short  trip  inland  in  a 
direction  I  had  never  hitherto  attempted.  I  intended 
to  cross  the  big  bay  in  my  dug-out,  round  Cape 
Londonderry,  and  then  go  south  among  the  beautiful 
islands  down  past  Admiralty  Gulf,  which  I  had  pre- 
viously explored  during  my  residence  on  the  Cape, 
and  where  I  had  found  food  and  water  abundant; 
numerous  caves,  with  mural  paintings ;  quiet  seas,  and 
gorgeous  vegetation.  Yamba  willingly  consented  to 
accompany  me,  and  one  day  I  set  off  on  the  sea  once 
more,  my  faithful  wife  by  my  side,  carrying  her  net 
full  of  odds  and  ends,  and  I  with  my  bow  and  arrows, 
tomahawk,  and  stiletto ;  the  two  latter  carried  in  my 
belt.  I  hoped  to  come  across  a  ship  down  among  the 
islands,  for  my  natives  told  me  that  several  had  passed 
while  I  was  away. 

At  length  we  started  off  in  our  dug-out,  the  sea 
being  perfectly  calm — more  particularly  in  the  early 
morning,  when  the  tide  was  generally  with  us.  After 
several  days'  paddling  we  got  into  a  narrow  passage 
between  a  long  elevated  island  and  the  main,  and  from 
there  found  our  way  into  an  inlet,  at  the  head  of 
which  appeared  masses  of  wild  and  rugged  rocks. 
These  rocks  were,  in  many  places,  decorated  with  a 
number  of  crude  but  striking  mural  paintings,  which 
were  protected  from  the  weather.  The  drawings  I 
found  represented  men  chiefly.  My  own  contributions 
consisted  of  life-size  sketches  of  my  wife,  myself, 
and  Bruno.  I  emphasised  my  long  hair,  and  also 
reproduced  my  bow  and  arrow.  This  queer  ^' art 
gallery  "  was  well  lighted,  and  the  rock  smooth.  We 
found    the    spot    a   very    suitable   one    for   camping; 


1 86  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

in  fact,  there  were  indications  on  all  sides  that  the 
place  was  frequently  used  by  the  natives  as  a  camping- 
ground.  A  considerable  quantity  of  bark  lay  strewn 
about  the  ground  in  sheets,  which  material  my  wife 
told  me  was  used  by  the  natives  as  bedding.  This 
was  the  first  time  I  had  known  the  black-fellows  to  use 
any  material  in  this  way.  I  also  came  across  traces 
of  a  feast — such  as  empty  oyster  shells  in  very  large 
heaps,  bones  of  animals,  &c.  The  waters  of  the  inlet 
were  exceedingly  well  stocked  with  fish ;  and  here  I 
saw  large  crayfish  for  the  first  time.  I  caught  and 
roasted  some,  and  found  them  very  good  eating.  This 
inlet  might  possibly  be  in  the  vicinity  of  Montague 
Sound,  a  little  to  the  south  of  Admiralty  Gulf 

We  stayed  a  couple  of  days  in  this  beautiful  spot, 
and  then  pushed  down  south  again,  always  keeping 
close  under  shelter  of  the  islands  on  account  of  our 
frail  craft.  The  seas  through  which  we  paddled 
were  studded  with  innumerable  islands,  some  rocky 
and  barren,  others  covered  with  magnificent  foliage 
and  grass.  We  landed  on  several  of  these,  and  on 
one — it  might  have  been  Bigges  Island — I  discovered 
a  high  cairn  or  mound  of  stones  erected  on  the  most 
prominent  point.  Yamba  told  me  that  this  structure 
was  not  the  work  of  a  native.  She  explained  that 
the  stones  were  laid  too  regularly.  A  closer  examina- 
tion convinced  me  that  the  cairn  had  been  built  by 
some  European — possibly  a  castaway — and  that  at 
one  time  it  had  probably  been  surmounted  by  a  flag- 
staff as  a  signal  to  passing  ships.  Food  was  very 
plentiful  on  this  island,  roots  and  yams  being  obtain- 
able in  great  abundance.  Rock  wallabies  were  also 
plentiful.     After  leaving  this  island  we  continued  our 


PAINTINGS   ON   THE   ROCKS 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   189 

journey  south,  paddling  only  during  the  day,  and 
always  with  the  tide,  and  spending  the  night  on  land. 
By  the  way,  whilst  among  the  islands,  I  came  across, 
at  various  times,  many  sad  signs  of  civilisation,  in 
the  form  of  a  lower  mast  of  a  ship,  and  a  deck- 
house, a  wicker -basket,  empt}^  brandy  cases,  and 
other  flotsam  and  jetsam,  which,  I  supposed,  had  come 
from  various  wrecks.  After  having  been  absent  from 
my  home  in  Cambridge  Gulf,  two  or  three  months,  I 
found  myself  in  a  large  bay,  which  I  now  know  to  be 
King's  Sound.  I  had  come  across  many  tribes  of 
natives  on  my  way  down.  Some  I  met  were  on  the 
islands  on  which  we  landed,  and  others  on  the  main- 
land. Most  of  these  black-fellows  knew  me  both  per- 
sonally and  by  repute,  many  having  been  present  at 
the  great  whale  feast.  The  natives  at  King's  Sound 
recognised  me,  and  gave  me  a  hearty  invitation  to  stay 
with  them  at  their  camp.  This  I  consented  to  do,  and 
my  friends  then  promised  to  set  all  the  other  tribes 
along  the  coast  on  the  look-out  for  passing  vessels, 
so  that  I  might  immediately  be  informed  by  smoke- 
signals  when  one  was  in  sight.  Not  long  after  this 
came  an  item  of  news  which  thrilled  me  through  and 
through. 

One  of  the  chiefs  told  me  quite  casually  that  at 
another  tribe,  some  days'  journey  away,  the  chief  had 
TWO  WHITE  WIVES.  They  had,  he  went  on  to  explain, 
a  skin  and  hair  exactly  like  my  own ;  but  in  spite  of 
even  this  assurance,  after  the  first  shock  of  amazement 
I  felt  confident  that  the  captives  were  Malays.  The 
news  of  their  presence  among  the  tribe  in  question 
was  a  well-known  fact  all  along  the  coast  of  King's 
Sound.       My  informant  had   never  actually  seen  the 


I90  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

white  women,  but  he  was  absolutely  certain  of  their 
existence.  He  added  that  the  captives  had  been 
seized  after  a  fight  with  some  white  men,  who  had 
come  to  that  coast  in  a  '*  big  catamaran."  However, 
I  decided  to  go  and  see  for  myself  what  manner  of 
women  they  were.  The  canoe  was  beached  well 
above  the  reach  of  the  tides  at  Cone  Bay,  and  then, 
accompanied  by  Yamba  only,  I  set  off  overland  on  my 
quest.  The  region  of  the  encampment  towards  which 
I  now  directed  my  steps  Hes  between  the  Lennard 
River  and  the  Fitzroy.  The  exact  spot,  as  near  as  I 
can  fix  it  on  the  chart,  is  a  place  called  Dprby,  at  the 
head  of  King's  Sound.  As  we  advanced  the  country 
became  very  rugged  and  broken,  with  numerous  creeks 
intersecting  it  in  every  direction.  Farther  on,  however, 
it  developed  into  a  rich,  low-lying,  park-like  region, 
with  water  in  abundance.  To  the  north-west  appeared 
elevated  ranges.  I  came  across  many  fine  specimens 
of  the  bottle  tree.  The  blacks  encamped  at  Derby 
were  aware  of  my  coming  visit,  having  had  the  news 
forwarded  to  them  by  means  of  the  universal  smoke- 
signals. 

The  camp  described  by  my  informant  I  found  to  be 
a  mere  collection  of  gunyahs,  or  break-winds,  made 
of  boughs,  and  I  at  once  presented  my  "  card  " — the 
ubiquite  passport  stick ;  which  never  left  me  for  a 
moment  in  all  my  wanderings.  This  stick  was  sent 
to  the  chief,  who  immediately  manifested  tokens  of 
friendship  towards  me. 

Unfortunately,  however,  he  spoke  an  entirely 
different  dialect  from  Yamba's;  but  by  means  of  the 
sign  language  I  explained  to  him  that  I  wished  to  stay 
with  him  for  a  few  *^  sleeps  "  (hand  held  to  the  side  of 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  191 

the  head,  with  fingers  for  numbers),  and  partake  of  his 
hospitahty.     To  this  he  readily  consented. 

Now,  I  knew  enough  of  the  customs  of  the  blacks 
to  realise  that,  being  a  stranger  among  them,  they 
would  on  request  provide  me  with  additional  wives 
during  my  stay, — entirely  as  a  matter  of  ceremonial 
etiquette ;  and  it  suddenly  occurred  to  me  that  I  might 
make  very  good  use  of  this  custom  by  putting  in  an 
immediate  demand  for  the  two  white  women — if  they 
existed.  You  see,  I  wanted  an  interview  with  them, 
in  the  first  place,  to  arrange  the  best  means  of  getting 
them  away.  I  confess  I  was  consumed  with  an  intense 
curiosity  to  learn  their  history — even  to  see  them. 
I  wondered  if  they  could  tell  me  anything  of  the  great 
world  now  so  remote  in  my  mind.  As  a  matter  of 
courtesy,  however,  I  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  day 
with  the  chief,  for  any  man  who  manifests  a  desire 
for  women's  society  loses  caste  immediately ;  and  in 
the  evening,  when  the  fact  of  my  presence  among  the 
tribe  had  become  more  extensively  known,  and  their 
curiosity  aroused  by  the  stories  that  Yamba  had  taken 
care  to  circulate,  I  attended  a  great  corroboree,  which 
lasted  nearly  the  whole  of  the  night.  As  I  was  sitting 
near  a  big  fire,  joining  in  the  chanting  and  festivities, 
Yamba  noiselessly  stole  to  my  side,  and  whispered  in 
my  ear  that  she  had  found  the  two  white  women, 

I  remember  I  trembled  with  excitement  at  the  pro- 
spect of  meeting  them.  They  were  very  young,  Yamba 
added,  and  spoke  ''  my "  language — -\  never  said 
"English,"  because  this  word  would  have  conveyed 
nothing  to  her  ;  and  she  also  told  me  that  the  prisoners 
were  in  a  dreadful  state  of  misery.  It  was  next  ex- 
plained to  me  that  the  girls,  according  to  native  custom, 


192   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

were  the  absolute  property  of  the  chief.  He  was  seated 
net  very  far  away  from  me,  and  was  certainly  one  of 
the  most  ferocious  and  repulsive-looking  creatures  I 
have  ever  come  across, — even  among  the  blacks.  He 
was  over  six  feet  high,  and  of  rather  a  lighter  com- 
plexion than  his  fellows, — almost  hke  a  Malay,  The 
top  of  his  head  receded  in  a  very  curious  manner, 
whilst  the  mouth  and  lower  part  of  the  face  generally 
protruded  like  an  alligator's,  and  gave  him  a  truly 
diabolical  appearance.  I  confess  a  thrill  of  horror 
passed  through  me,  as  I  realised  that  two  doubtless 
tenderly  reared  English  girls  were  in  the  clutches  of 
this  monster.  Once  I  thought  I  must  have  been 
dreaming,  and  that  the  memories  of  some  old  story- 
book I  had  read  years  ago  were  filling  my  mind  with 
some  fantastic  delusion.  For  a  moment  I  pictured 
to  myself  the  feelings  of  their  prosaic  British  relatives, 
could  they  only  have  known  what  had  become  of  the 
long-lost  loved  ones — a  fate  more  shocking  and  more 
fearful  than  any  ever  conceived  by  the  writer  of  fiction. 
Of  course,  my  readers  will  understand  that  much  detail 
about  the  fate  of  these  poor  creatures  must  be  sup- 
pressed for  obvious  reasons.  But  should  any  existing 
relatives  turn  up,  I  shall  be  only  too  happy  to  place 
at  their  disposal  all  the  information  I  possess. 

Presently,  I  grasped  the  whole  terrible  affair,  and 
realised  it  as  absolute  fact !  My  first  impulse  was  to 
leap  from  the  corroboree  and  go  and  reassure  the  un- 
happy victims  in  person,  telling  them  at  the  same  time 
that  they  might  count  on  my  assistance  to  the  last.  It 
was  not  advisable,  however,  to  withdraw  suddenly 
from  the  festivities,  for  fear  my  absence  might  arouse 
suspicion. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF 


193 


The  only  alternative  that  presented  itself  was  to 
send  a  note  or  message  of  some  kind  to  them,  and  so 
I  asked  Yamba  to  bring  me  a  large  fleshy  leaf  of  a 
water-hly,  and  then,  with  one  of  her  bone  needles,  I 


AN    ORIGINAL    LETTER 


pricked,  in  printed  English  characters,  ''A  friend  is 
near;  fear  not^  Handing  this  original  letter  to  Yamba, 
I  instructed  her  to  give  it  to  the  girls  and  tell  them 
to  hold  it  up  before  the  fire  and  read  the  perforations. 
This  done,  I  returned  to  the  corroboree^  still  displaying  a 


194      DE   ROUGEMv..  •  "JvEiNj     ix 

feigned  enthusiasm  for  the  proceedings,  but  determined 
upon  a  bold  and  resolute  course  of  action.  I  must 
say  though,  that  at  that  particular  moment  I  was 
not  very  sanguine  of  getting  the  girls  away  out  of 
the  power  of  this  savage,  who  had  doubtless  won 
them  from  some  of  his  fellows  by  more  or  less  fair 
fighting. 

I  made  my  way  over  to  where  the  chief  was 
squatting,  and  gazed  at  him  long  and  steadily.  I 
remember  his  appearance  as  though  it  were  but  yes- 
terday that  we  met.  I  think  I  have  already  said  he 
was  the  most  repulsive-looking  savage  I  have  ever 
come  across,  even  among  the  Australian  blacks.  The 
curious  raised  scars  were  upon  this  particular  chief 
both  large  and  numerous.  This  curious  form  of 
decoration,  by  the  way,  is  a  very  painful  business. 
The  general  practice  is  to  make  transverse  cuts  with 
a  sharp  shell,  or  stone  knife,  on  the  chest,  thighs,  and 
sometimes  on  the  back  and  shoulders.  Ashes  and 
earth  are  then  rubbed  into  each  cut,  and  the  wound  is 
left  to  close.  Next  comes  an  extremely  painful  gather- 
ing and  swelling,  and  a  little  later  the  earth  that  is 
inside  is  gradually  removed — sometimes  with  a  feather. 
When  the  wounds  finally  heal  up,  each  cicatrice  stands 
out  like  a  raised  weal,  and  of  these  extraordinary 
marks  the  blacks  are  inordinately  proud. 

But  to  return  to  the  chief  who  owned  the  girls.  I 
must  say  that,  apart  from  his  awful  and  obviously 
stubborn  face,  he  was  a  magnificently  formed  savage. 

I  commenced  the  conversation  with  him  by  saying, 
I  presumed  the  usual  courtesy  of  providing  a  wife 
would  be  extended  to  me  during  my  stay.  As  I 
anticipated,    he    readily   acquiesced,   and    I    instantly 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  195 

followed  up  the  concession  by  calmly  remarking  that  1 
should  like  to  have  the  two  white  women  who  were  in 
the  camp  sent  over  to  my  'Mittle  place."  To  this 
suggestion  he  gave  a  point-blank  refusal.  I  persisted, 
however,  and  taunted  him  with  deliberately  breaking 
the  inviolable  rules  of  courtesy ;  and  at  length  he  gave 
me  to  understand  he  would  think  the  matter  over. 

All  this  time  Yamba  had  been  as  busy  as  a  showman 
out  West.  She  had  followed  with  unusual  vigour 
her  customary  role  of  ^*  advance  agent,"  and  had  spread 
most  ridiculously  exaggerated  reports  of  my  super- 
natural prowess  and  magical  attributes.  I  controlled 
the  denizens  of  Spiritland,  and  could  call  them  up  in 
thousands  to  torment  the  blacks.  I  controlled  the 
elements ;  and  was  in  short  all-powerful. 

I  must  admit  that  this  energetic  and  systematic 
"  puffing  "  did  a  great  deal  of  good,  and  wherever  we 
went  I  was  looked  upon  as  a  sort  of  wizard,  entitled 
to  very  great  respect,  and  the  best  of  everything  that 
was  going. 

For  a  long  time  the  tribal  chief  persisted  in  his 
opposition  to  my  request  for  the  girls;  but  as  most 
of  his  warriors  were  in  my  favour  (I  had  given  many 
appalling  demonstrations  in  the  bush  at  night),  I  knew 
he  would  submit  sooner  or  later.  The  big  corroboree 
lasted  all  night,  and  at  length,  before  we  separated  on 
the  second  day,  the  great  man  gave  way — with  exceed- 
ingly bad  grace.  Of  course,  I  did  not  disturb  the  girls 
at  that  hour,  but  next  day  I  told  Yamba  to  go  and  see 
them  and  arrange  for  an  interview.  She  came  back 
pretty  soon,  and  then  undertook  to  guide  me  to  their 
**  abode."  The  prospect  of  meeting  white  people  once 
more — even  these  two  poor  unfortunates — threw  me 


196  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

into  a  strange  excitement,  in  the  midst  of  which  I 
quite  forgot  my  own  astonishing  appearance,  which  was 
far  more  Hke  that  of  a  gaily  decorated  and  gorgeously 
painted  native  chief  than  a  civilised  European.  For 
it  must  be  remembered  that  by  this  time  I  had  long 
ago  discarded  all  clothing,  except  an  apron  of  emu 
feathers,  whilst  my  skin  was  extremely  dark  and  my 
hair  hung  down  my  back  fully  three  feet,  and  was 
built  up  in  a  surprising  way  in  times  of  war  and  corro- 
bo7'ee. 

I  followed  Yamba  through  the  camp,  getting  more 
and  more  excited  as  we  approached  the  girls'  domi- 
cile. At  length  she  stopped  at  the  back  of  a  crescent- 
shaped  break-wind  of  boughs,  and  a  moment  later — 
eager,  trembling,  and  almost  speechless  —  I  stood 
before  the  two  English  girls.  Looking  back  now,  I 
remember  they  presented  a  truly  pitiable  spectacle. 
They  were  huddled  together  on  the  sandy  ground, 
naked,  and  locked  in  one  another's  arms.  Before 
them  burned  a  fire,  which  was  tended  by  the  women. 
Both  looked  frightfully  emaciated  and  terrified — so 
much  so,  that  as  I  write  these  words  my  heart  beats 
faster  with  horror  as  I  recall  the  terrible  impression 
they  made  upon  me.  As  they  caught  sight  of  me, 
they  screamed  aloud  in  terror.  I  retired  a  little  way 
discomfited,  remembering  suddenly  my  own  fantastic 
appearance.  Of  course,  they  thought  I  was  another 
black  fellow  coming  to  torture  them.  All  kinds  of  ex- 
traordinary reflections  flashed  through  my  mind  at 
that  moment.  What  would  people  in  my  beloved 
France,  I  wondered — or  among  my  Swiss  mountains, 
or  in  stately  England — think  of  the  fate  that  had  over- 
taken these  girls — a  fate   that   would  infallibly  read 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  197 

more  like  extravagant  and  even  offensive  fiction  than 
real,  heart-rending  fact  ? 

I  went  back  and  stood  before  the  girls,  saying, 
reassuringly,  ''  Ladies,  I  am  a  white  man  and  a  friend ; 
and  if  you  will  only  trust  in  me  I  think  I  can  save 
you." 

Their  amazement  at  this  Httle  speech  knew  no 
bounds,  and  one  of  the  girls  became  quite  hysterical. 
I  called  Yamba,  and  introduced  her  as  my  wife,  and 
they  then  came  forward  and  clasped  me  by  the  hand, 
crying,  shudderingly,  "  Oh,  save  us !  Take  us  away 
from  that  fearful  brute." 

I  hastily  explained  to  them  that  it  was  solely  because 
I  had  resolved  to  save  them  that  I  had  ventured  into 
the  camp ;  but  they  would  have  to  wait  patiently  until 
circumstances  favoured  my  plans  for  their  escape.  I 
did  not  conceal  from  them  that  my  being  able  to  take 
them  away  at  all  was  extremely  problematical;  for  I 
could  see  that  to  have  raised  false  hopes  would  have 
ended  in  real  disaster.  Gradually  they  became  quieter 
and  more  reasonable — and  my  position  obviously  more 
embarrassing.  I  quickly  told  them  that,  at  any  rate, 
so  long  as  I  remained  in  the  camp,  they  need  not  fear 
any  further  visits  from  the  giant  chief  they  dreaded  so 
much,  and  with  this  reassurance  I  walked  swiftly 
away,  followed  by  Yamba. 

The  laws  of  native  hospitality  absolutely  forbade 
any  one  to  interfere  with  the  girls  during  my  stay,  so, 
easy  in  my  mind,  I  made  straight  for  the  extensive 
swamps  which  I  knew  lay  a  few  miles  from  the  camp. 
In  this  wild  and  picturesque  place  I  brought  down, 
with  Yamba's  assistance,  a  great  number  of  cockatoos, 
turkeys,  and  other  wild  fowl,  which  birds  were  promptly 


198   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

skinned,  my  wife  and  I  having  in  view  a  little  amateur 
tailoring  which  should  render  my  future  interviews  with 
the  girls  a  little  less  embarrassing.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
I  handed  over  the  bird-skins  to  Yamba,  and  she,  with 
her  bone  needles  and  threads  of  kangaroo  sinews,  soon 
made  a  couple  of  extraordinary  but  most  serviceable 
garments,  which  we  immediately  took  back  to  the  poor 
girls,  who  were  shivering  with  cold  and  neglect.  I  at 
once  saw  the  reason  of  most  of  their  suffering. 

Their  own  clothing  had  apparently  been  lost  or 
destroyed,  and  the  native  women,  jealous  of  the  atten- 
tion which  the  chief  was  bestowing  upon  the  new- 
comers, gave  them  little  or  no  food.  Nor  did  the 
jealous  wives  instruct  the  interlopers  in  the  anointing 
of  their  bodies  with  that  pecuHar  kind  of  clay  which 
forms  so  effective  a  protection  alike  against  the  burn- 
ing heat  of  the  sun,  the  treacherous  cold  of  the  night- 
winds,  and  the  painful  attacks  of  insects.  All  the 
information  I  could  elicit  from  the  girls  that  evening 
was  the  fact  that  they  had  been  shipwrecked,  and  had 
already  been  captive  among  the  blacks  for  three  and 
a  half  months.  The  elder  girl  further  said  that  they 
were  not  allowed  their  liberty,  because  they  had  on 
several  occasions  tried  to  put  an  end  to  their  indescrib- 
able sufferings  by  committing  suicide.  Anything  more 
extraordinary  than  the  costumes  we  made  for  the  girls 
you  never  saw.  They  were  not  of  elaborate  design, 
being  of  the  shape  of  a  long  sack,  with  holes  for  the 
arms  and  neck;  and  they  afterwards  shrank  in  the 
most  absurd  way. 


CHAPTER  X 

Miss  Rogers  begins  her  story — An  interview  on  the  high  seas — Drift- 
ing to  destruction — The  ship  disappears — Tortured  by  thirst — A 
fearful  sight — Cannibals  on  the  watch — The  blacks  quarrel  over 
the  girls — Courting  starvation — Yamba  goes  for  help — A  startling 
announcement — Preparations  for  the  fight — Anxious  moments — 
A  weird  situation — "Victory,  victory  " — A  melodramatic  attitude — 
The  girls  get  sore  feet. 

AT  our  next  interview,  thanks  to  Yamba's  good  offices, 
i\  both  girls  were  looking  very  much  better  than 
when  I  first  saw  them ;  and  then,  consumed  with 
natural  curiosity  and  a  great  desire  to  learn  something 
of  the  outside  world,  I  begged  them  to  tell  me  their 
story. 

The  first  thing  I  learnt  was  that  they  were  two 
sisters,  named  Blanche  and  Gladys  Rogers,  their 
respective  ages  being  nineteen  and  seventeen  years. 
Both  girls  were  extremely  pretty,  the  particular  attrac- 
tion about  Gladys  being  her  lovely  violet  eyes.  It 
was  Blanche  who,  with  much  hysterical  emotion,  told 
me  the  story  of  their  painful  experience,  Gladys  occa- 
sionally prompting  her  sister  with  a  few  interpolated 
words. 

Here,  then,  is  Blanche  Rogers's  story,  told  as  nearly 
as  possible  in  her  own  words.  Of  course  it  is  absurd 
to  suppose  that  I  can  reproduce  verbatim  the  fearful 
story  told  by  the  unfortunate  girl. 


200  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

**My  sister  and  I  are  the  daughters  of  Captain  Rogers, 
who  commanded  a  700-ton  barque  owned  by  our  uncle." 
[I  am  not  absolutely  certain  whether  the  girls  w^ere  the 
daughters  of  the  captain  or  the  owner. — L.  de  R.] 
*'We  were  always  very  anxious,  even  as  children,  to 
accompany  our  dear  father  on  one  of  his  long  trips, 
and  at  length  we  induced  him  to  take  us  with  him 
when  he  set  sail  from  Sunderland  [not  certain,  this] 
in  the  year  1868  [or  1869],  with  a  miscelbneous  cargo 
bound  for  Batavia  [or  Singapore].  The  voyage  out 
was  a  very  pleasant  one,  but  practically  without 
incident — although,  of  course,  full  of  interest  to  us. 
The  ship  delivered  her  freight  in  due  course,  but  our 
father  failed  to  obtain  a  return  cargo  to  take  back  with 
him  to  England.  Now,  as  a  cargo  of  some  kind  was 
necessary  to  clear  the  expenses  of  the  voyage,  father 
decided  to  make  for  Port  Louis,  in  Mauritius,  to  see 
what  he  could  do  among  the  sugar-exporters  there. 

*^On  the  way  to  Port  Louis,  we  suddenly  sighted  a 
ship  flying  signals  of  distress.  We  at  once  hove  to 
and  asked  what  assistance  we  could  render.  A  boat 
presently  put  off  from  the  distressed  vessel,  and  the 
captain,  who  came  aboard,  explained  that  he  had  run 
short  of  provisions  and  wanted  a  fresh  supply — no 
matter  how  small — to  tide  him  over  his  difficulty.  He 
further  stated  that  his  vessel  was  laden  with  guano, 
and  was  also  en  route  for  Port  Louis.  The  two  captains 
had  a  long  conversation  together,  in  the  course  of  which 
an  arrangement  was  arrived  at  between  them. 

"  We  said  we  were  in  ballast,  searching  for  freight, 
whereupon  our  visitor  said :  '  Why  don't  you  make 
for  the  Lacepede  Islands,  off  the  north-west  Australian 
coast,  and  load  guano,  which  you  can  get  there  for 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  201 

nothing  ?  '  We  said  we  did  not  possess  the  necessary 
requisites  in  the  shape  of  shovels,  sacks,  punts,  wheel- 
barrows, and  the  like.  These  were  promptly  supplied 
by  the  other  captain  in  part  payment  for  the  provisions 
we  let  him  have.  Thus  things  were  eventually 
arranged  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  both  parties,  and 
then  the  Alexandi'ia  (I  think  that  was  the  name  of  the 
ship)  proceeded  on  her  way  to  Port  Louis,  whilst  we 
directed  our  course  to  the  Lacepede  Islands. 

^'  In  due  time  we  reached  a  guano  islet,  and  the  crew 
quickly  got  to  work,  with  the  result  that  in  a  very  short 
time  we  had  a  substantial  cargo  on  board.  A  day  or 
two  before  we  were  due  to  leave,  we  went  to  father 
and  told  him  we  wanted  very  much  to  spend  an  evening 
on  the  island  to  visit  the  turtle-breeding  ground. 
Poor  father,  indulgent  always,  allowed  us  to  go  ashore 
in  a  boat,  under  the  care  of  eight  men,  who  were  to  do 
a  little  clearing-up  whilst  they  were  waiting  for  us. 
We  found,  as  you  may  suppose,  a  great  deal  to  interest 
us  on  the  island,  and  the  time  passed  all  too  quickly. 
The  big  turtles  came  up  with  the  full  tide,  and  at 
once  made  nests  for  themselves  on  the  beach  by 
scraping  out  with  their  hind-flippers  a  hole  about  ten 
inches  deep  and  five  inches  in  diameter.  The  creatures 
then  simply  lay  over  these  holes  and  dropped  their 
eggs  into  them.  We  learned  that  the  number  of  eggs 
laid  at  one  sitting  varies  from  twelve  up  to  forty.  We 
had  great  fun  in  collecting  the  eggs  and  generally  play- 
ing with  the  turtles.  I  am  afraid  we  got  out  of  sight 
of  the  men,  and  did  not  notice  that  the  weather  showed 
decided  signs  of  a  sudden  change.  When  at  length  the 
crew  found  us  it  was  past  midnight — though  not  very 
dark ;  and  though  we  ought  to  have  been  making  pre- 


202   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

parations  for  returning  to  the  ship,  it  was  blowing  hard. 
On  account  of  this,  the  crew  said  they  did  not  consider 
it  advisable  to  launch  the  boat ;  and  as  we  had  our  big 
cloaks  with  us,  it  was  decided  to  remain  on  the  island 
all  night  to  see  if  the  weather  improved  by  the  morning. 
Our  ship  was  anchored  fully  three  miles  away,  outside 
the  reefs,  and  it  would  have  been  impossible,  in  the  sea 
that  was  running,  to  pull  out  to  her.  There  was  only 
one  white  man  among  our  protectors,  and  he  was  a 
Scotchman.  The  men  made  a  fire  in  a  more  or  less 
sheltered  spot,  and  round  this  we  squatted,  the  men 
outside  us,  so  as  to  afford  us  greater  protection  from 
the  storm. 

*'  In  this  way  the  whole  night  passed,  principally  in 
telling  stories  of  adventure  by  sea  and  land.  We  all 
hoped  that  by  morning  at  any  rate  the  wind  would 
have  abated ;  but  at  daybreak,  as  we  looked  anxiously 
out  over  the  tempestuous  sea,  it  was  blowing  as  hard 
as  ever ;  and  by  ten  o'clock  the  storm  had  increased  to 
a  terrific  gale.  Our  men  unanimously  declared  they 
dared  not  attempt  to  reach  the  ship  in  their  small  boat, 
although  we  could  see  the  vessel  plainly  riding  at  her 
old  anchorage.  What  followed  Gladys  and  I  gathered 
afterwards,  just,  before  the  dreadful  thing  happened. 
We  were  all  safe  enough  on  land,  but  it  became  evident 
to  the  sailors  with  us  that  the  ship  could  not  weather 
the  storm  unless  she  weighed  anchor  and  stood  out  to 
sea.  The  crew  watched  with  eager  eyes  to  see  what 
my  father  would  do.  Manifestly  he  was  in  too  much 
distress  of  mind  about  us  to  go  right  away,  and  I 
suppose  he  preferred  to  trust  to  the  strength  of  his 
cables. 

^'  Shortly  after  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  however. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  203 

the  ship  began  to  drag  her  anchors,  and  in  spite  of  all 
that  could  be  done  by  my  father  and  his  officers,  the 
shapely  little  vessel  gradually  drifted  on  to  the  coral 
reefs.  All  this  time  Gladys  and  I,  quite  ignorant  of 
seamanship  and  everything  pertaining  to  it,  were  watch- 
ing the  doomed  ship,  and  from  time  to  time  asked 
anxiously  what  was  the  meaning  of  all  the  excitement. 
The  men  returned  us  evasive  answers,  like  the  kind- 
hearted  fellows  they  were,  and  cheered  us  up  in 
every  possible  way.  Presently  we  heard  signals  of 
distress  (only  we  didn't  know  they  were  signals  of 
distress  then),  and  our  companions  saw  that  the 
captain  realised  only  too  well  his  terribly  dangerous 
position.  It  was,  however,  utterly  impossible  for  them 
to  have  rendered  him  any  assistance.  The  rain  was 
now  descending  in  sheets,  lashing  the  giant  waves  with 
a  curious  hissing  sound.  The  sky  was  gloomy  and 
overcast,  and  altogether  the  outlook  was  about  as 
terrible  as  it  could  well  be.  Presently  we  became 
dreadfully  anxious  about  our  father ;  but  when  the 
sailors  saw  that  the  ship  was  apparently  going  to  pieces, 
they  induced  us  to  return  to  the  camp  fire  and  sit  there 
till  the  end  was  past.  By  this  time  the  barque  was 
being  helplessly  buffeted  about  amongst  the  reefs,  a 
little  less  than  a  mile  and  a  half  from  shore. 

''  Suddenly,  as  we  afterwards  learnt,  she  gave  a  lurch 
and  completely  disappeared  beneath  the  turbulent 
waters,  without  even  her  mastheads  being  left  standing 
to  show  where  she  had  gone  down.  She  had  evidently 
torn  a  huge  hole  in  her  side  in  one  of  her  colHsions 
with  the  jagged  reefs,  for  she  sank  with  such  rapidity 
that  not  one  of  the  boats  could  be  launched,  and  not 
a  single  member  of  the  crew  escaped — so  far  as  we 


204  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

knew — save  only  those  who  were  with  us  on  the  island. 
The  loss  of  the  ship  was,  of  course,  a  terrible  blow 
to  our  valiant  protectors,  who  were  now  left  absolutely 
dependent  on  their  own  resources  to  provide  food  and 
means  of  escape.  Thus  passed  a  dreadful  day  and 
night,  the  men  always  keeping  us  ignorant  of  what 
had  happened.  They  resolved  to  make  for  Port 
Darwin,  on  the  mainland  of  Australia,  which  was 
believed  to  be  quite  near ;  for  we  had  no  water,  there 
being  none  on  the  guano  island.  The  interval  was 
spent  in  collecting  turtles'  eggs  and  sea-fowl,  which 
were  intended  as  provisions  for  the  journey.  Next 
morning  the  storm  had  quite  abated,  and  gradually 
the  stupefying  news  was  communicated  to  us  that  our 
father  and  his  ship  had  gone  down  with  all  hands  in 
the  night.  Indeed,  these  kind  and  gentle  men  told 
us  the  whole  story  of  their  hopes  and  doubts  and  fears, 
together  with  every  detail  of  the  terrible  tragedy  of 
the  sea  that  had  left  us  in  such  a  fearful  situation. 
No  one  needs  to  be  told  our  feelings. 

"  Shortly  before  noon  next  day  the  sail  was  hoisted  ; 
we  took  our  places  in  the  boat,  and  soon  were  rippling 
pleasantly  through  the  now  placid  waters,  leaving  the 
guano  island  far  behind.  The  wind  being  in  our  favour, 
very  satisfactory  progress  was  made  for  many  hours ; 
but  at  length,  tortured  by  thirst,  it  was  decided  to  land 
on  the  mainland  or  the  first  island  we  sighted,  and  lay 
in  a  stock  of  water — if  it  was  obtainable.  Gladys  and 
I  welcomed  the  idea  of  landing,  because  by  this  time 
we  were  in  quite  a  disreputable  condition,  not  having 
washed  for  several  days.  It  was  our  intention,  while 
the  crews  were  getting  water  and  food,  to  retire  to  the 
other  side  of  the  island,  behind  the  rocks,  and  there 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  205 

have  a  nice  bath.  The  boat  was  safely  beached,  and 
there  being  no  signs  of  natives  anyvv^here  in  the  vicinity, 
the  men  soon  laid  in  a  stock  of  v^^ater  v^ithout  troubling 
to  go  very  far  inland  for  it.  My  sister  and  I  at  once 
retired  several  hundred  yards  away,  and  there  un- 
dressed and  went  into  the  water. 

*'  We  had  scarcely  waded  out  past  our  waists  when, 
to  our  unspeakable  horror,  a  crowd  of  naked  blacks, 
hideously  painted  and  armed  with  spears,  came  rush- 
ing down  the  cliffs  towards  us,  yelling  and  whooping 
in  a  way  I  am  never  likely  to  forget.  They  seemed  to 
rise  out  of  the  very  rocks  themselves  ;  and  I  really 
think  we  imagined  we  were  going  mad,  and  that  the 
whole  appalling  vision  was  a  fearful  dream,  induced  by 
the  dreadful  state  of  our  nerves.  My  own  heart  seemed 
to  stand  still  with  terror,  and  the  only  description  I 
can  give  of  my  sensations  was  that  I  felt  absolutely 
paralysed.  At  length,  when  the  yelling  monsters  were 
quite  close  to  us,  we  realised  the  actual  horror  of  it  all, 
and  screaming  frantically,  tried  to  dash  out  of  the 
water  towards  the  spot  where  we  had  left  our  clothes. 
But  some  of  the  blacks  intercepted  us,  and  we  saw  one 
man  deliberately  making  off  with  the  whole  of  our 
wearing  apparel. 

**  Of  course,  when  the  boat's  crew  heard  the  uproar 
they  rushed  to  our  assistance,  but  when  they  were 
about  twenty  yards  from  our  assailants,  the  blacks 
sent  a  volley  of  spears  among  them  with  such  amazing 
effect  that  every  one  of  the  sailors  fell  prostrate  to 
the  earth.  The  aim  of  the  blacks  was  wonderfully 
accurate. 

*'  Some  of  our  men,  however,  managed  to  struggle  to 
their  feet  again,   in  a  heroic   but  vain  endeavour  to 


2o6  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

reach  our  side;  but  these  poor  fellows  were  at  once 
butchered  in  the  most  shocking  manner  by  the  natives, 


INTERCEPTED    BY   THE   BLACKS 


who  wielded  their  big  waddies  or  clubs  with  the  most 
sickening  effect.  Indeed,  so  heart-rending  and  horrible 
was  the  tragedy  enacted  before  our  eyes,  that  for  a 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  207 

long  time  afterwards  we  scarcely  knew  what  was 
happening  to  us,  so  dazed  with  horror  were  we.  For 
myself,  I  have  a  faint  recollection  of  being  dragged 
across  the  island  by  the  natives,  headed  by  the  hideous 
and  gigantic  chief  who  afterwards  claimed  us  as  his 
'wives.'  We  were  next  put  on  board  a  large  cata- 
maran, our  hands  and  feet  having  been  previously  tied 
with  hair  cords  ;  and  we  were  then  rowed  over  to  the 
mainland,  which  was  only  a  few  miles  away.  We  kept 
on  asking  by  signs  that  our  clothing  might  be  returned 
to  us,  but  the  blacks  tore  the  various  garments  into 
long  strips  before  our  eyes,  and  wrapped  the  rags 
about  their  heads  by  way  of  ornament.  We  reached 
the  encampment  of  the  black-fellows  late  that  same 
evening,  and  were  at  once  handed  over  to  the  charge 
of  the  women,  who  kept  us  close  prisoners  and — so  far 
as  we  could  judge — abused  us  in  the  most  violent 
manner.  Of  course,  I  don't  know  exactly  what  their 
language  meant,  but  I  do  know  that  they  treated  us 
shamefully,  and  struck  us  from  time  to  time.  I 
gathered  that  they  were  jealous  of  the  attention  shown 
to  us  by  the  big  chief. 

^*  We  afterwards  learnt  that  the  island  on  which  the 
terrible  tragedy  took  place  was  not  really  inhabited, 
but  the  blacks  on  the  coast  had,  it  appeared,  seen  our 
boat  far  out  at  sea,  and  watched  it  until  we  landed 
for  water.  They  waited  a  little  while  in  order  to  lull 
the  crew  into  a  sense  of  fancied  security,  and  then, 
without  another  moment's  delay,  crossed  over  to  the 
island  and  descended  upon  us. 

''  We  passed  a  most  wretched  night.  Never — never 
can  I  hope  to  describe  our  awful  feelings.  We  suffered 
intensely  from  the  cold,  being  perfectly  naked.     We 


2o8   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

were  not,  however,  molested  by  any  of  our  captors. 
But  horror  was  to  be  piled  on  horror's  head,  for  the 
next  day  a  party  of  the  blacks  returned  to  the  island 
and  brought  back  the  dead  bodies  of  all  the  murdered 
sailors.  At  first  we  wondered  why  they  went  to  this 
trouble;  and  when,  at  length,  it  dawned  upon  us  that 
a  great  cannibal  feast  was  in  preparation,  I  think  we 
fainted  away. 

'^  We  did  not  actually  see  the  cooking  operations,  but 
the  odour  of  burning  flesh  was  positively  intolerable ; 
and  we  saw  women  pass  our  little  grass  shelters  carry- 
ing some  human  arms  and  legs,  which  were  doubtless 
their  own  families'  portions.  I  thought  we  should  both 
have  gone  mad,  but  notwithstanding  this,  we  did  keep 
our  reason.  Our  position,  however,  was  so  revolting 
and  so  ghastly,  that  we  tried  to  put  an  end  to  our  lives 
by  strangling  ourselves  with  a  rope  made  of  plaited 
grass.  But  we  were  prevented  from  carrying  out 
our  purpose  by  the  women-folk,  who  thereafter  kept 
a  strict  watch  over  us.  It  seemed  to  me,  so  em- 
barrassing were  the  attentions  of  the  women,  that 
these  pitiable  but  cruel  creatures  were  warned  by  the 
chief  that,  if  anything  befell  us,  they  themselves  would 
get  into  dire  trouble.  All  this  time,  I  could  not  seem 
to  think  or  concentrate  my  mind  on  the  events  that  had 
happened.  I  acted  mechanically,  and  I  am  absolutely 
certain  that  neither  Gladys  nor  myself  realised  our 
appalling  position. 

*^  In  the  meantime,  it  seems,  a  most  sanguinary  fight 
had  taken  place  among  four  of  the  principal  blacks  who 
had  assisted  in  the  attack  upon  our  sailors,  the  object 
of  the  fight  being  to  decide  who  should  take  posses- 
sion of  us. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  209 

''  One  night  we  managed  to  slip  out  of  the  camp  with- 
out attracting  the  notice  of  the  women,  and  at  once 
rushed  down  to  the  beach,  intending  to  throw  ourselves 
into  the  water,  and  so  end  a  life  which  was  far  worse 
than  death.  We  were,  unfortunately,  missed,  and  just 
as  we  were  getting  beyond  our  depth  a  party  of  furious 
blacks  rushed  down  to  the  shore,  waded  out  into  the 
water  and  brought  as  out. 

''After  this  incident  our  liberty  was  curtailed  alto- 
gether, and  we  were  moved  away.  The  women  were 
plainly  told — so  we  gathered — that  if  anything  hap- 
pened to  us,  death,  and  nothing  less,  would  be  their 
portion.  Now  that  we  could  no  longer  leave  the  little 
break-wind  that  sheltered  us,  we  spent  the  whole  of 
our  time  in  prayer — mainly  for  death  to  release  us 
from  our  agonies.  I  was  surprised  to  see  that  the 
women  themselves,  though  nude,  were  not  much 
affected  by  the  intense  cold  that  prevailed  at  times, 
but  we  afterwards  learnt  that  they  anointed  their 
naked  bodies  with  a  kind  of  greasy  clay,  which  formed 
a  complete  coating  all  over  their  bodies.  During  the 
ensuing  three  months  the  tribe  constantly  moved  their 
camp,  and  we  were  always  taken  about  by  our  owner 
and  treated  with  the  most  shocking  brutality.  The 
native  food,  which  consisted  of  roots,  kangaroo  flesh, 
snakes,  caterpillars,  and  the  like,  was  utterly  loathsome 
to  us,  and  for  several  days  we  absolutely  refused  to 
touch  it,  in  the  hope  that  we  might  die  of  starvation. 

"  Finally,  however,  the  blacks  compelled  us  to  swallow 
some  mysterious-looking  meat,  under  threats  of  torture 
from  those  dreadful  fire-sticks.  You  will  not  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  that,  though  life  became  an  intolerable 
burden  to  us,  yet,  for  the  most  part,  we  obeyed  our 

o 


2  10   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

captors  submissively.  At  the  same  time,  I  ought  to 
tell  you  that  now  and  again  we  disobeyed  deliberately, 
and  did  our  best  to  lash  the  savages  into  a  fury, 
hoping  that  they  would  spear  us  or  kill  us  with  their 
clubs.  Our  sole  shelter  was  a  break-wind  of  boughs 
with  a  fire  in  front.  The  days  passed  agonisingly  by ; 
and  when  I  tell  you  that  every  hour — nay,  every 
moment — was  a  crushing  torture,  you  will  understand 
what  that  phrase  means.  We  grew  weaker  and  weaker, 
and,  I  believe,  more  emaciated.  We  became  delirious 
and  hysterical,  and  more  and  more  insensible  to  the 
cold  and  hunger.  No  doubt  death  would  soon  have 
come  to  our  relief  had  you  not  arrived  in  time  to 
save  us." 

This,  then,  was  the  fearful  story  which  the  unfortu- 
nate Misses  Rogers  had  to  tell.  The  more  I  thought 
it  over,  the  more  I  realised  that  no  Englishwomen 
had  ever  lived  to  tell  so  dreadful  an  experience.  I 
compared  their  story  with  mine,  and  felt  how  different 
it  was.  I  was  a  man,  and  a  power  in  the  land  from 
the  very  first — treated  with  the  greatest  consideration 
and  respect  by  all  the  tribes.  And,  poor  things,  they 
were  terribly  despondent  when  I  explained  to  them 
that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  take  them  right  away 
at  once.  Had  I  attempted  to  do  so  surreptitiously,  I 
should  have  outraged  the  sacred  laws  of  hospitality, 
and  brought  the  whole  tribe  about  my  ears  and  theirs. 
Besides,  I  had  fixed  upon  a  plan  of  my  own ;  and,  as 
the  very  fact  of  my  presence  in  the  camp  was  sufficient 
protection  for  the  girls,  I  implored  them  to  wait 
patiently  and  trust  in  me. 

That   very  night   I   called  Yamba  to  me   and   de- 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  211 

spatched  her  to  a  friendly  tribe  we  had  encoun- 
tered in  the  King  Leopold  Ranges — perhaps  three 
days'  journey  away.  I  instructed  her  to  tell  these 
blacks  that  I  was  in  great  danger,  and,  therefore,  stood 
in  need  of  a  body  of  warriors,  who  ought  to  be  sent 
off  immediately  to  my  assistance.  They  knew  me 
much  better  than  I  did  them.  They  had  feasted  on  the 
whale.  As  I  concluded  rny  message,  I  looked  into 
Yamba's  eyes  and  told  her  the  case  was  desperate. 
Her  dear  eyes  glowed  in  the  firelight,  and  I  saw  that 
she  was  determined  to  do  or  die.  I  trusted  implicitly 
in  her  fertility  of  resource  and  her  extraordinary 
intelligence. 

In  a  few  days  she  returned,  and  told  me  that 
everything  had  been  arranged,  and  a  body  of  armed 
warriors  would  presently  arrive  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
camp,  ready  to  place  themselves  absolutely  at  my 
service. 

And  sure  enough,  a  few  days  later  twenty  stalwart 
warriors  made  their  appearance  at  the  spot  indicated 
by  Yamba ;  but  as  I  did  not  consider  the  force  quite 
large  enough  for  my  purpose,  I  sent  some  of  them 
back  with  another  message  asking  for  reinforcements, 
and  saying  that  the  great  white  chief  was  in  danger. 
Finally,  when  I  felt  prett}^  confident  of  my  position, 
I  marched  boldly  forward  into  the  camp  with  my 
warriors,  to  the  unbounded  amazement  of  the  whole 
tribe  with  whose  chief  I  was  sojourning.  He  taxed 
me  with  having  deceived  him  when  I  said  I  was 
alone,  and  he  also  accused  me  of  outraging  the  laws  of 
hospitality  by  bringing  a  party  of  warriors,  obviously 
hostile,  into  his  presence. 

I  wilfully  ignored  all  these  points,  and  calmly  told 


212   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

him  I  had  been  thinking  over  the  way  in  which 
he  had  acquired  the  two  white  girls,  and  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  he  had  no  right  to  them  at 
all.  Therefore,  I  continued  airily,  it  was  my  inten- 
tion to  take  them  away  forthwith.  I  pointed  out  to 
the  repulsive  giant  that  he  had  not  obtained  the  girls 
by  fair  means,  and  if  he  objected  to  my  taking  them 
away,  it  was  open  to  him,  according  to  custom,  to 
sustain  his  claim  to  ownership  by  fighting  me  for 
the  "  property." 

Now,  these  blacks  are  neither  demonstrative  nor 
intelligent,  but  I  think  I  never  saw  any  human  being 
so  astonished  in  the  whole  of  my  life.  It  dawned 
upon  him  presently,  however,  that  I  was  not  joking, 
and  then  his  amazement  gave  place  to  the  most 
furious  anger.  He  promptly  accepted  my  challenge, 
greatly  to  the  delight  of  all  the  warriors  in  his  own 
tribe,  with  whom  he  was  by  no  means  popular.  But, 
of  course,  the  anticipation  of  coming  sport  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  their  glee  at  the  acceptance  of  the 
challenge.  The  big  man  was  as  powerful  in  build 
as  he  was  ugly,  and  the  moment  he  opened  his  mouth 
I  realised  that  for  once  Yamba  had  gone  too  far  in 
proclaiming  my  prodigious  valour.  He  said  he  had 
heard  about  my  wonderful  "  flying-spears,"  and 
declined  to  fight  me  if  I  used  such  preternatural 
weapons.  It  was  therefore  arranged  that  we  should 
wrestle — the  one  who  overthrew  the  other  twice  out 
of  three  times  to  be  declared  the  victor.  I  may  say 
that  this  was  entirely  my  suggestion,  as  I  had  always 
loved  trick  wrestling  when  at  school,  and  even  had  a 
special  tutor  for  that  purpose — M.  Viginet,  an  agile 
little  Parisian,  living  in  Geneva.      He  was  a  Crimean 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  213 

veteran.  The  rank-and-file  of  the  warriors,  however, 
did  not  look  upon  this  suggestion  with  much  favour, 
as  they  thought  it  was  not  paying  proper  respect  to 
my  wonderful  powers.  I  assured  them  I  was  per- 
fectly satisfied,  and  begged  them  to  let  the  contest 
proceed. 

Then  followed  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  com- 
bats on  record.  Picture  to  yourself,  if  you  can,  the 
agony  of  mind  of  poor  little  Blanche  and  Gladys 
Rogers  during  the  progress  of  the  fight ;  and  also 
imagine  the  painful  anxiety  with  which  I  went  in 
to  win. 

A  piece  of  ground  about  twenty  feet  square  was 
lightly  marked  out  by  the  blacks  with  their  waddies,  and 
the  idea  was  that,  to  accomplish  a  throw,  the  wrestler 
had  to  hurl  his  opponent  clean  outside  the  boundary. 
We  prepared  for  the  combat  by  covering  our  bodies 
with  grease  ;  and  I  had  my  long  hair  securely  tied 
up  into  a  kind  of  "  chignon  "  at  the  back  of  my  head. 
My  opponent  was  a  far  bigger  man  than  myself, 
but  I  felt  pretty  confident  in  my  ability  as  a  trick 
wrestler,  and  did  not  fear  meeting  him.  What  I 
did  fear,  however,  was  that  he  would  dispute  the 
findings  of  the  umpires  if  they  were  in  my  favour,  in 
which  case  there  might  be  trouble.  I  had  a  shrewd 
suspicion  that  the  chief  was  something  of  a  coward 
at  heart.  He  seemed  nervous  and  anxious,  and  I 
saw  him  talking  eagerly  with  his  principal  supporter. 
As  for  myself,  I  constantly  dwelt  upon  the  ghastly 
plight  of  the  two  poor  girls.  I  resolved  that,  with 
God's  help,  I  would  vanquish  my  huge  enemy  and 
rescue  them  from  their  dreadful  position.  I  was  in 
splendid  condition,   with  muscles  like  steel  from  in- 


2  14  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

cessant  walking.  At  length  the  warriors  squatt'^d 
down  upon  the  ground  in  the  form  of  a  crescent,  the 
chiefs  in  the  foreground,  and  every  detail  of  the 
struggle  that  followed  was  observed  with  the  keenest 
interest. 

I  was  anxious  not  to  lose  a  single  moment.  I 
felt  that  if  I  thought  the  matter  over  I  might  lose 
heart,  so  I  suddenly  bounded  into  the  arena.  My 
opponent  was  there  already — looking,  I  must  sa}', 
a  little  undecided. 

In  a  moment  his  huge  arms  were  about  my  waist 
and  shoulders.  It  did  not  take  me  very  long  to  find 
out  that  the  big  chief  was  going  to  depend  more 
upon  his  weight  than  upon  any  technical  skill  in 
wrestling.  He  possessed  none.  He  first  made  a 
great  attempt  to  force  me  upon  my  knees  and  then 
backwards ;  but  I  wriggled  out  of  his  grasp,  and 
a  few  minutes  later  an  opening  presented  itself  for 
trying  the  *'  cross-buttock "  throw.  There  was  not 
a  moment  to  be  lost.  Seizing  the  big  man  round 
the  thigh  I  drew  him  forward,  pulled  him  over  on 
my  back,  and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye — certainly 
before  I  myself  had  time  to  realise  what  had  happened 
— he  was  hurled  right  over  my  head  outside  the  en- 
closure. The  spectators — sportsmen  all — frantically 
slapped  their  thighs,  and  I  knew  then  that  I  had 
gained  their  sympathies.  My  opponent,  who  had 
alighted  on  his  head  and  nearly  broken  his  neck,  rose 
to  his  feet,  looking  dazed  and  furious  that  he  should 
have  been  so  easily  thrown.  When  he  faced  me  for 
the  second  time  in  the  square  he  was  much  more 
cautious,  and  we  struggled  silently,  but  forcefully,  for 
some   minutes   without    either    gaining    any   decided 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  215 

advantage.  Oddly  enough,  at  the  time  I  was  not 
struck  by  the  dramatic  element  of  the  situation  ;  but 
now  that  I  have  returned  to  civilisation  I  do  see  the 
extraordinary  nature  of  the  combat  as  I  look  back 
upon  those  dreadful  days. 

Just  picture  the  scene  for  yourself  The  weird, 
unexplored  land  stretches  away  on  every  side,  though 
one  could  not  see  much  of  it  on  account  of  the  grassy 
hillocks.  I,  a  white  man,  was  alone  among  the  blacks 
in  the  terrible  land  of  ^' Never  Never," — as  the  Aus- 
tralians call  their  terra  incognita;  and  I  was  wrestling 
with  a  gigantic  cannibal  chief  for  the  possession  of 
two  delicately-reared  English  girls,  who  were  in  his 
power.  Scores  of  other  savages  squatted  before  us, 
their  repulsive  faces  aglow  with  interest  and  excite- 
ment. Very  fortunately  Bruno  was  not  on  the 
spot.  I  knew  what  he  was  of  old,  and  how  he 
made  m}'  quarrels  his  with  a  strenuous  energy  and 
eagerness  that  frequently  got  himself  as  well  as  his 
master  into  serious  trouble.  Knowing  this,  I  had 
instructed  Yamba  to  keep  him  carefully  away,  and 
on  no  account  let  him  run  loose. 

Fully  aware  that  delays  were  dangerous,  I  gripped 
my  opponent  once  more  and  tried  to  throw  him  over 
my  back,  but  this  time  he  was  too  wary,  and  broke 
away  from  me.  When  we  closed  again  he  com- 
menced his  old  tactics  of  trying  to  crush  me  to  the 
ground  by  sheer  weight,  but  in  this  he  was  not  suc- 
cessful. Frankly,  I  knew  his  strength  was  much 
greater  than  mine,  and  that  the  longer  we  wrestled 
the  less  chance  I  would  have.  Therefore,  forcing 
him  suddenly  sideways,  so  that  he  stood  on  one  leg, 
I   tripped  him,   hurling  him  violently  from  me  side- 


2i6  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

ways ;  and  his  huge  form  went  roUing  outside  the 
square,  to  the  accompaniment  of  dehghted  yells  from 
his  own  people. 

I  cannot  describe  my  own  sensations,  for  I  believe 
I  was  half  mad  with  triumph  and  excitement.  I 
must  not  forget  to  mention  that  1,  too,  fell  to  the 
ground,  but  fortunately  well  within  the  square.  I 
was  greatly  astonished  to  behold  the  glee  of  the 
spectators — but,  then,  the  keynote  of  their  character 
is  an  intense  love  of  deeds  of  prowess,  especially  such 
deeds  as  provide  exciting  entertainment. 

The  vanquished  chief  sprang  to  his  feet  before  I 
did,  and  ere  I  could  realise  what  was  happening,  he 
dashed  at  me  as  I  was  rising  and  dealt  me  a  terrible 
blow  in  the  mouth  with  his  clenched  fist.  As  he 
was  a  magnificently  muscular  savage,  the  blow  broke 
several  of  my  teeth  and  filled  my  mouth  with  blood. 
My  lips,  too,  were  very  badly  cut,  and  altogether  I 
felt  half  stunned.  The  effect  upon  the  audience  was 
astounding.  The  warriors  leaped  to  their  feet,  highly 
incensed  at  the  cowardly  act,  and  some  of  them  would 
actually  have  speared  their  chief  then  and  there  had 
I  not  forestalled  them.  I  was  furiously  angry,  and 
dexterously  drawing  my  stiletto  from  its  sheath  so  as 
not  to  attract  attention,  I  struck  at  my  opponent  with 
all  my  force,  burying  the  short,  keen  blade  in  his 
heart.  He  fell  dead  at  my  feet  with  a  low,  gurgling 
groan.  As  I  withdrew  the  knife,  I  held  it  so  that 
the  blade  extended  up  my  forearm  and  was  quite 
hidden.  This,  combined  with  the  fact  that  the  fatal 
wound  bled  mainly  internally,  caused  the  natives  to 
believe  I  had  struck  my  enemy  dead  by  some  super- 
natural means.      The  act  was  inevitable. 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF 


217 


You  will  observe  that  by  this  time  I  would  seize 
every  opportunity  of  impressing  the  blacks  by  an 
almost  intuitive  instinct ;  and  as  the  huge  savage  lay 
dead   on    the    ground,    I    placed    my    foot    over    the 


A   DEADLY   COMBAT 


wound,  folded  my  arms,  and  looked  round  trium- 
phantly upon  the  enthusiastic  crowd,  like  a  gladiator 
of  old. 

According  to  law  and  etiquette,  however,  the  nearest 


21  8   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

relatives  of  the  dead  man  had  a  perfect  right  to 
challenge  me,  but  they  did  not  do  so,  probably  because 
they  were  disgusted  at  the  unfair  act  of  my  opponent. 
I  put  the  usual  question,  but  no  champion  came 
forward  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  was  overwhelmed  with 
congratulations,  and  even  offers  of  the  chieftainship. 
I  am  certain,  so  great  was  the  love  of  fair-play  among 
these  natives,  that  had  I  not  killed  the  chief  with 
my  stiletto,  his  own  people  would  promptly  have 
speared  him.  The  whole  of  this  strange  tragedy 
passed  with  surprising  swiftness  ;  and  I  may  mention 
here  that,  as  I  saw  the  chief  rushing  at  rne,  I  thought 
he  simply  wanted  to  commence  another  round.  His 
death  was  actually  an  occasion  for  rejoicing  in  the 
tribe.  The  festivities  were  quickly  ended,  however, 
when  I  told  the  warriors  that  I  intended  leaving  the 
camp  with  the  two  girls  in  the  course  of  another  day 
or  so,  to  return  to  my  friends  in  the  King  Leopold 
Ranges.  In  reality  it  was  my  intention  to  make  for 
my  own  home  in  the  Cambridge  Gulf  district.  The 
body  of  the  chief  was  not  eaten  (most  likely  on  account 
of  the  cowardice  he  displayed),  but  it  was  disposed 
of  according  to  native  rites.  The  corpse  was  first 
of  all  half-roasted  in  front  of  a  huge  fire,  and  then, 
when  properly  shrivelled,  it  was  wrapped  in  bark 
and  laid  on  a  kind  of  platform  built  in  the  fork  of 
a  tree. 

The  girls  were  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  fatal  termi- 
nation of  the  wrestling  match,  as  I  was  afraid  it 
might  give  them  an  unnecessary  shock.  After  twelve 
or  fourteen  days  in  the  camp,  we  quietly  took  our 
departure.  Our  party  consisted  of  the  two  girls, 
who  were  nearly  frantic  with  excitement  over  their 


DISPOSING   OF  THE   CHIEF 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   221 

escape  ;  Yamba,  and  myself —  together  with  the 
friendly  warriors  who  had  so  opportunely  come  to 
my  assistance. 

We  had  not  gone  far,  however,  before  the  girls 
complained  of  sore  feet.  This  was  not  surprising, 
considering  the  burning  hot  sand  and  the  rough 
country  we  were  traversing,  which  was  quite  the  worst 
I  had  yet  seen — at  any  rate,  for  the  first  few  days' 
march  after  we  got  out  of  the  level  country  in  the 
King's  Sound  region.  I,  therefore,  had  to  rig  up  a 
kind  of  hammock  made  of  woven  grass,  and  this, 
slung  between  two  poles,  served  to  carry  the  girls  by 
turns,  the  natives  acting  as  bearers.  But  being 
totally  unused  to  carrying  anything  but  their  own 
weapons,  they  proved  deplorably  inefficient  as  porters, 
and  after  a  time,  so  intolerable  to  them  did  the  labour 
become,  the  work  of  carrying  the  girls  devolved  upon 
Yamba  and  myself.  Gladys,  the  younger  girl,  suffered 
most,  but  both  were  weak  and  footsore  and  generally 
incapable  of  much  exertion.  Perhaps  a  reaction  had 
set  in  after  the  terrible  excitement  of  the  previous 
days.  Soon  our  escort  left  us,  to  return  to  their  own 
homes  ;  and  then  Yamba  and  I  had  to  work  extremely 
hard  to  get  the  girls  over  the  terribly  rough  country. 
Fortunately  there  was  no  need  for  hurry,  and  so  we 
proceeded  in  the  most  leisurely  manner  possible, 
camping  frequently  and  erecting  grass  shelters  for 
our  delicate  charges.  Food  was  abundant,  and  the 
natives  friendly. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Easier  travel — The  girls  improve — How  the  blacks  received  them — A 
large  hut — A  dainty  dish — What  might  have  been — The  girls 
decorate  their  home — Bruno  as  a  performer — "A  teacher  of 
swimming  " — How  we  fought  depression — Castles  in  the  air— A 
strange  concert — Trapping  wild-cats — The  girls'  terror  of  solitude 
— Fervent  prayer — A  goose-skin  football — How  I  made  drums. 

AT  length  we  came  to  a  stately  stream  that  flowed 
l\  in  a  NNE.  direction  to  Cambridge  Gulf.  This, 
I  believe,  is  the  Ord  River.  Here  we  constructed  a 
catamaran,  and  were  able  to  travel  easily  and  luxu- 
riously upon  it,  always  spending  the  night  ashore. 
This  catamaran  was  exceptionally  large,  and  long 
enough  to  admit  of  our  standing  upright  on  it  with 
perfect  safety.  After  crossing  the  King  Leopold 
Ranges  we  struck  a  level  country,  covered  with  rich, 
tall  grass,  and  well  though  not  thickly  wooded.  The 
rough  granite  ranges,  by  the  way,  we  found  rich 
in  alluvial  and  reef  tin.  Gradually  the  girls  grew 
stronger  and  brighter.  At  this  time  they  were,  as 
you  know,  clad  in  their  strange  ''  sack "  garments  of 
bird-skins ;  but  even  before  we  reached  the  Ord  River 
these  began  to  shrink  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
wearers  were  eventually  wrapped  as  in  a  vice,  and 
were  scarcely  able  to  walk.  Yamba  then  made  some 
make-shift  garments  out  of  opossum  skins. 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   223 

As  the  girls'  spirits  rose  higher  and  higher  I  was 
assailed  by  other  misgivings.  I  do  not  know  quite 
how  the  idea  arose,  but  somehow  they  imagined  that 
their  protector's  home  was  a  more  or  less  civilised 
settlement,  with  regular  houses,  furnished  with  pianos 
and  other  appurtenances  of  civilised  life  !  So  great 
was  their  exuberance  that  I  could  not  find  it  in  my 
heart  to  tell  them  that  they  were  merely  going  among 
my  own  friendly  natives,  whose  admiration  and  affec- 
tion for  myself  only  differentiated  them  from  the  other 
cannibal  blacks  of  unknown  Australia. 

When  first  I  saw  these  poor  girls,  in  the  glow  of 
the  firelight,  and  in  their  rude  shelter  of  boughs,  they 
looked  like  old  women,  so  haggard  and  emaciated 
were  they  ;  but  now,  as  the  spacious  catamaran  glided 
down  the  stately  Ord,  they  gradually  resumed  their 
youthful  looks,  and  were  very  comely  indeed.  The 
awful  look  of  intolerable  anguish  that  haunted  their 
faces  had  gone,  and  they  laughed  and  chatted  with 
perfect  freedom.  They  were  like  birds  just  set  at 
liberty.  They  loved  Bruno  from  the  very  first ;  and 
he  loved  them.  He  showed  his  love,  too,  in  a  very 
practical  manner,  by  going  hunting  on  his  own  account 
and  bringing  home  little  ducks  to  his  new  mistresses. 
Quite  of  his  own  accord,  also,  he  would  go  through 
his  whole  repertoire  of  tumbling  tricks  ;  and  whenever 
the  girls  returned  to  camp  from  their  little  wander- 
ings, with  bare  legs  bleeding  from  the  prickles,  Bruno 
would  lick  their  wounds  and  manifest  every  token  of 
sympathy  and  affection. 

Of  course,  after  leaving  the  native  encampment,  it 
was  several  weeks  before  we  made  the  Ord  River, 
and   then  we  glided  down  that  fine  stream  for  many 


2  24  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

days,  spearing  fish  in  the  Httle  creeks,  and  generally 
amusing  ourselves,  time  being  no  object.  .1  have,  by 
the  way,  seen  enormous  shoals  of  fish  in  this  river — 
mainly  mullet — which  can  only  be  compared  to  the 
vast  swarms  of  salmon  seen  in  the  rivers  of  British 
Columbia. 

We  came  across  many  isolated  hills  on  our  way 
to  the  river,  and  these  delayed  us  very  considerably, 
because  we  had  to  go  round  them.  Here,  again, 
there  was  an  abundance  of  food,  but  the  girls  did 
not  take  very  kindly  to  the  various  meats,  greatly 
preferring  the  roots  which  Yamba  collected.  We 
came  upon  fields  of  wild  rice,  which,  apart  from  any 
other  consideration,  lent  great  beauty  to  the  land- 
scape, covering  the  country  with  a  pinkish-white 
blossom.  We  forced  ourselves  to  get  used  to  the 
rice,  although  it  was  very  insipid  without  either  salt 
or  sugar. 

Sometimes,  during  our  down-river  journey,  we 
were  obliged  to  camp  for  days  and  nights  without 
making  any  progress.  This,  however,  was  only  after 
the  river  became  tidal  and  swept  up  against  us. 

When  at  length  we  would  put  off  again  in  a  home- 
ward direction,  I  sang  many  little  chansons  to  my  fair 
companions.  The  one  that  pleased  them  most,  having 
regard  to  our  position,  commenced — 

"  Filez,  filez,  mon.beau  navire, 
Car  la  bonheur  m'attend  la  bas." 

Whenever  the  girls  appeared  to  be  brooding  over 
the  terrible  misfortunes  they  had  undergone,  I  would 
tell  them  my  own  story,  which  deeply  affected  them. 
They  would  often  weep  with   tender  sympathy  over 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  225 

the  series  of  catastrophes  that  had  befallen  me.  They 
sang  to  me,  too — chiefly  hymns,  however — such  as 
"  Rock  of  Ages,"  "  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"  '*  There 
is  a  Happy  Land,"  and  many  others.  We  were  con- 
stantly meeting  new  tribes  of  natives,  and  for  the  most 
part  were  very  wgW  received.  Bruno,  however,  always 
evinced  an  unconquerable  aversion  for  the  blacks.  He 
was  ever  kind  to  the  children,  though  mostly  in  disgrace 
with  the  men — until  they  knew  him. 

When  at  length  we  reached  my  own  home  in 
Cambridge  Gulf,  the  natives  gave  us  a  welcome  so 
warm  that  in  some  measure  at  least  it  mitigated  the 
girls'  disappointment  at  the  absence  of  civilisation. 

You  see,  my  people  were  delighted  when  they 
saw  me  bringing  home,  as  they  thought,  two  white 
wives  ;  "  for  now,"  they  said,  "  the  great  white  chief 
will  certainly  remain  among  us  for  ever."  There 
were  no  wars  going  on  just  then,  and  so  the  whole 
tribe  gave  themselves  up  to  festivities. 

The  blacks  were  also  delighted  to  see  the  girls, 
though  of  course  they  did  not  condescend  to  greet 
them,  they  being  mere  women,  and  therefore  beneath 
direct  notice. 

I  ought  to  mention  here,  that  long  before  we 
reached  my  home  we  were  constantly  provided  with 
escorts  of  natives  from  the  various  tribes  we  met. 
These  people  walked  along  the  high  banks  or  dis- 
ported themselves  in  the  water  like  amphibians, 
greatly  to  the  delight  of  the  girls.  We  found 
the  banks  of  the  Ord  very  thickly  populated,  and 
frequently  camped  at  night  with  different  parties  of 
natives.  Among  these  we  actually  came  across  some 
I  had  fought  against  many  months  previously. 


226   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

As  we  neared  my  home,  some  of  our  escort  sent 
up  smoke-signals  to  announce  our  approach — the  old 
and  wonderful  *'  Morse  code "  of  long  puffs,  short 
puffs,  spiral  puffs,  and  the  rest ;  the  variations  being 
produced  by  damping  down  the  fire  or  fires  with 
green  boughs.  Yamba  also  sent  up  signals.  The 
result  was  that  crowds  of  my  own  people  came  out 
in  their  catamarans  to  meet  us.  My  reception,  in 
fact,  was  like  that  accorded  a  successful  Roman 
General.  Needless  to  say,  there  was  a  series  of 
huge  corroborees  held  in  our  honour.  The  first  thing 
I  was  told  was  that  my  hut  had  been  burnt  down  in 
my  absence  (fires  are  of  quite  common  occurrence)  ; 
and  so,  for  the  first  few  days  after  our  arrival,  the 
girls  were  housed  in  a  temporary  grass  shelter,  pend- 
ing the  construction  of  a  substantial  hut  built  of  logs. 
Now,  as  logs  were  very  unusual  building  material, 
a  word  of  explanation  is  necessary. 

The  girls  never  conquered  their  fear  of  the  blacks 
— even  my  blacks  ;  and  therefore,  in  order  that  they 
might  feel  secure  from  night  attack  (a  purely  fanciful 
idea,  of  course),  I  resolved  to  build  a  hut  which  should 
be  thoroughly  spear-proof.  Bark  was  also  used  ex- 
tensively, and  there  was  a  thatch  of  grass.  When 
finished,  our  new  residence  consisted  of  three  fair- 
sized  rooms — one  for  the  girls  to  sleep  in,  one  for 
Yamba  and  myself,  and  a  third  as  a  general  ^*  living 
room," — though,  of  course,  we  lived  mainly  en  plcin 
ain  I  also  arranged  a  kind  of  veranda  in  front  of 
the  door,  and  here  we  frequently  sat  in  the  evening, 
singing,  chatting  about  distant  friends  ;  the  times  that 
were,  and  the  times  that  were  to  be. 

Let  the  truth  be  told.      When  these  poor  young 


AS   TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  227 

ladies  came  to  my  hut  their  faces  expressed  their 
bitter  disappointment,  and  we  all  wept  together  the 
greater  part  of  the  night.  Afterwards  they  said  how 
sorry  they  were  thus  to  have  given  way  ;  and  they 
begged  me  not  to  think  them  ungrateful.  However, 
they  soon  resigned  themselves  to  the  inevitable, 
buoyed  up  by  the  inexhaustible  optimism  of  youth  ; 
and  they  settled  down  to  live  as  comfortably  as  pos- 
sible among  the  blacks  until  some  fortuitous  occurrence 
should  enable  us  all  to  leave  these  weird  and  remote 
regions.  The  girls  were  in  constant  terror  of  being 
left  alone — of  being  stolen,  in  fact.  They  had  been 
told  how  the  natives  got  wives  by  stealing  them  ; 
and  they  would  wake  up  in  the  dead  of  the  night 
screaming  in  the  most  heart-rending  manner,  with  a 
vague,  nameless  terror.  Knowing  that  the  ordinary 
food  must  be  repulsive  to  my  new  and  delightful 
companions,  I  went  back  to  a  certain  island,  where, 
during  my  journey  from  the  little  sand-spit  to  the 
main,  I  had  hidden  a  quantity  of  corn  beneath  a 
cairn. 

This  corn  I  now  brought  back  to  my  Gulf  home, 
and  planted  for  the  use  of  the  girls.  They  always 
ate  the  corn  green  in  the  cob,  with  a  kind  of  vegetable 
^'milk"  that  exudes  from  one  of  the  palm-trees. 
When  they  became  a  little  more  reconciled  to  their 
new  surroundings,  they  took  a  great  interest  in  their 
home,  and  would  watch  me  for  hours  as  I  tried  to 
fashion  rude  tables  and  chairs  and  other  articles  of 
furniture.  Yamba  acted  as  cook  and  waitress,  but 
after  a  time  the  work  was  more  than  she  could  cope 
with  unaided.  You  see,  she  had  to  find  the  food  as 
well  as   cook  it.       The  girls,   who  were,   of  course, 


228   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

looked  upon  as  my  wives  by  the  tribe  (this  was  tneir 
greatest  protection),  knew  nothing  about  root-hunting, 
and  therefore  they  did  not  attempt  to  accompany 
Yamba  on  her  daily  expeditions.      I  was  in  something 


MAKING  THE   CHAIRS 


of  a  dilemma.  If  I  engaged  other  native  women  to 
help  Yamba,  they  also  would  be  recognised  as  my 
wives.  Finally,  I  decided  there  was  nothing  left  for 
me  but  to  acquire  five  more  helpmates,  who  were  of 
the  greatest  assistance  to  Yamba. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  229 

Of  course,  the  constant  topic  of  conversation  was 
our  ultimate  escape  overland ;  and  to  this  end  we 
made  little  expeditions  to  test  the  girls'  powers  of 
endurance.  I  suggested,  during  one  of  our  conver- 
sations, that  we  should  either  make  for  Port  Essington, 
or  else  go  overland  in  search  of  Port  Darwin  ;  but  the 
girls  were  averse  to  this,  owing  to  their  terror  of  the 
natives. 

Little  did  I  dream,  however,  that  at  a  place  called 
Cossack,  on  the  coast  of  the  North-West  Division  of 
Western  Australia,  there  was  a  settlement  of  pearl- 
fishers  ;  so  that,  had  I  only  known  it,  civilisation — 
more  or  less — was  comparatively  near.  Cossack,  it 
appears,  was  the  pearling  rendezvous  on  the  western 
side  of  the  continent,  much  as  Somerset  was  on 
the  north-east,  at  the  extremity  of  the  Cape  York 
Peninsula. 

My  tongue  or  pen  can  never  tell  what  those 
young  ladies  were  to  me  in  my  terrible  exile.  They 
would  recite  passages  from  Sir  Walter  Scott's  works 
— the  "  Tales  of  a  Grandfather "  I  remember  in 
particular;  and  so  excellent  was  their  memory  that 
they  were  also  able  to  give  me  many  beautiful  passages 
from  Byron  and  Shakespeare.  I  had  always  had  a 
great  admiration  for  Shakespeare,  and  the  girls  and 
myself  would  frequently  act  little  scenes  from  "The 
Tempest,"  as  being  the  most  appropriate  to  our  cir- 
cumstances. The  girls'  favourite  play,  however,  was 
"  Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre."  I  took  the  part  of  the 
King,  and  when  I  called  for  my  robes  Yamba  would 
bring  some  indescribable  garments  of  emu  skin,  with 
a  gravity  that  was  comical  in  the  extreme.  I,  on 
my  part,  recited  passages  from  the  French  classics — • 


230  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

particularly  the  Fables  of  La  Fontaine,  in  French  ; 
which  language  the  girls  knew  fairly  well. 

And  we  had  other  amusements.  I  made  some 
fiddles  out  of  that  peculiar  Australian  wood  which 
splits  into  thin  strips.  The  strings  of  the  bow  we 
made  out  of  my  own  hair  ;  whilst  those  for  the  instru- 
ment itself  were  obtained  from  the  dried  intestines  of 
the  native  wild-cat. 

We  lined  the  hut  with  the  bark  of  the  paper-tree, 
which  had  the  appearance  of  a  reddish-brown  drapery. 

The  native  women  made  us  mats  out  of  the  wild 
flax  ;  and  the  girls  themselves  decorated  their  room 
daily  with  beautiful  flowers,  chiefly  lilies.  They  also 
busied  themselves  in  making  garments  of  various 
kinds  from  opossum  skins.  They  even  made  some 
sort  of  costume  for  me,  but  I  could  not  wear  it  on 
account  of  the  irritation  it  caused. 

The  natives  would  go  miles  to  get  fruit  for  the 
girls — wild  figs,  and  a  kind  of  nut  about  the  size  of 
a  walnut,  which,  when  ripe,  was  filled  with  a  delicious 
substance  looking  and  tasting  like  raspberry  jam. 
There  was  also  a  queer  kind  of  apple  which  grew 
upon  creepers  in  the  sand,  and  of  which  we  ate  only 
the  outer  part  raw,  cooking  the  large  kernel  which  is 
found  inside.  I  do  not  know  the  scientific  name  of 
any  of  these  things. 

I  often  asked  the  girls  whether  they  had  altogether 
despaired  in  the  clutches  of  the  cannibal  chief;  and 
they  told  me  that  although  they  often  attempted  to 
take  their  own  lives,  yet  they  had  intervals  of  bright 
hope — so  strong  is  the  optimism  of  youth.  My 
apparition,  they  told  me,  seemed  like  a  dream  to 
them. 


AS   TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  231 

The  natives,  of  course,  were  constantly  moving 
their  camp  from  place  to  place,  leaving  us  alone  for 
v/eeks  at  a  time  ;  but  we  kept  pretty  stationary,  and 
were  visited  by  other  friendly  tribes,  whom  we  enter- 
tained (in  accordance  with  my  consistent  policy)  with 
songs,  plays,  recitations,  and  acrobatic  performances. 

In  these  latter  Bruno  took  a  great  part,  and 
nothing  delighted  the  blacks  more  than  to  see  him 
put  his  nose  on  the  ground  and  go  head  over  heels 
time  after  time  with  great  gravity  and  persistency. 
But  the  effect  of  Bruno's  many  tricks  faded  into  the 
veriest  insignificance  beside  that  produced  by  his 
bark.  You  must  understand  that  the  native  dogs  do 
not  bark  at  all,  but  simply  give  vent  to  a  melancholy 
howl,  not  unlike  that  of  the  hyena,  I  believe.  Bruno's 
bark,  be  it  said,  has  even  turned  the  tide  of  battle,  for 
he  was  always  in  the  wars  in  the  most  literal  sense  of 
the  phrase.  These  things,  combined  with  his  great 
abilities  as  a  hunter,  often  prompted  the  blacks  to  put 
in  a  demand  that  Bruno  should  be  made  over  to 
them  altogether.  Now,  this  request  was  both  awk- 
ward and  inconvenient  to  answer  ;  but  I  got  out  of 
it  by  telling  them — since  they  believed  in  a  curious 
kind  of  metempsychosis — that  Bruno  was  my  brother^ 
whose  soul  and  being  he  possessed  !  His  bark,  I 
pretended,  was  a  perfectly  intelligible  language,  and 
this  they  believed  the  more  readily  when  they  saw 
me  speak  to  the  dog  and  ask  him  to  do  various  things, 
such  as  fetching  and  carrying  ;  tumbling,  walking  on 
his  hind-legs,  &c.  &c.  But  even  this  argument  did 
not  suffice  to  overcome  the  covetousness  of  some 
tribes,  and  I  was  then  obliged  to  assure  them  con- 
fidentially  that    he  was    a  relative   of  the  Sun,   and 


232   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

therefore  if  I  parted  with  him  he  would  bring  all 
manner  of  most  dreadful  curses  down  upon  his  new 
owner  or  owners.  Whenever  we  went  rambling  I 
had  to  keep  Bruno  as  near  me  as  possible,  because 
we  sometimes  came  across  natives  whose  first  impulse, 
not  knowing  that  he  was  a  dog,  was  to  spear  him. 
Without  doubt  the  many  cross-breeds  between  Bruno 
and  the  native  dogs  will  yet  be  found  by  Australian 
explorers. 

Our  hut  was  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  away 
from  the  sea,  and  in  the  morning  the  very  first  thing 
the  girls  and  I  did  was  to  go  down  to  the  beach  arm- 
in-arm  and  have  a  delicious  swim. 

They  very  soon  became  expert  swimmers,  by  the 
way,  under  my  tuition.  Frequently  I  would  go  out 
spearing  and  netting  fish,  my  principal  captures  being 
mullet.  We  nearly  always  had  fish  of  some  sort  for 
breakfast,  including  shell-fish  ;  and  we  would  send  the 
women  long  distances  for  wild  honey.  Water  was 
the  only  liquid  we  drank  at  breakfast,  and  with  it 
Yamba  served  a  very  appetising  dish  of  lily-buds  and 
roots.  We  used  to  steam  the  wild  rice — which  I 
found  growing  almost  everywhere,  but  never  more 
than  two  feet  high — in  primitive  ovens,  which  were 
merely  adapted  ants'  nests.  The  material  that  formed 
these  nests,  we  utilised  as  flooring  for  our  house. 
We  occasionally  received  quantities  of  wild  figs  from 
the  inland  natives  in  exchange  for  shell  and  other 
ornaments  which  they  did  not  possess.  I  also  dis- 
covered a  cereal  very  like  barley,  which  I  ground 
up  and  made  into  cakes.  The  girls  never  attempted 
to  cook  anything,  there  being  no  civilised  appliances 
of  any  kind.      Food  was  never  boiled. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  233 

From  all  this  you  would  gather  that  we  were  as 
happy  as  civilised  beings  could  possibly  be  under  the 
circumstances.  Nevertheless — and  my  heart  aches  as 
I  recall  those  timevS — we  had  periodical  fits  of  despond- 
ency, which  filled  us  with  acute  and  intolerable  agony. 

These  periods  came  with  curious  regularity  almost 
once  a  week.  At  such  times  I  at  once  instituted  sports, 
such  as  swimming  matches,  races  on  the  beach,  swings, 
and  acrobatic  performances  on  the  horizontal  bars. 
Also  Shakespearian  plays,  songs  (the  girls  taught  me 
most  of  Moore's  melodies),  and  recitations  both  grave 
and  gay.  The  fits  of  despondency  were  usually  most 
severe  when  we  had  been  watching  the  everlasting 
sea  for  hours,  and  had  perhaps  at  last  caught  sight  of 
a  distant  sail  without  being  able  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  those  on  board.  The  girls,  too,  suffered  from 
fits  of  nervous  apprehension  lest  I  should  go  away 
from  them  for  any  length  of  time.  They  never  had 
complete  confidence  even  in  my  friendly  natives. 
Naturally  we  were  inseparable,  we  three.  We  went 
for  long  rambles  together,  and  daily  inspected  our 
quaint  little  corn-garden.  At  first  my  charming 
companions  evinced  the  most  embarrassing  gratitude 
for  what  I  had  done,  but  I  earnestly  begged  of 
them  never  even  to  mention  the  word  to  me.  The 
little  I  had  done,  1  told  them,  was  my  bare  and 
obvious  duty,  and  was  no  more  than  any  other  man, 
worthy  of  the  name,  would  have  done. 

In  our  more  hopeful  moments  we  would  speak  of 
the  future,  and  these  poor  girls  would  dwell  upon  the 
thrill  of  excitement  that  would  go  all  through  the 
civilised  world,  when  their  story  and  mine  should 
first  be  made  known  to  the  public. 


234  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

For  they  felt  certain  their  adventures  were  quite 
unique  in  the  annals  of  civilisation,  and  they  loved  to 
think  they  vi^ould  have  an  opportunity  of  "  lionising  " 
me  when  we  should  return  to  Europe.  They  would 
not  hear  me  when  I  protested  that  such  a  course 
would,  from  my  point  of  view,  be  extremely  un- 
pleasant and  undignified — even  painful. 

Every  day  we  kept  a  good  look-out  for  passing 
ships ;  and  from  twenty  to  forty  catamarans  were 
always  stationed  on  the  beach  in  readiness  to  take  us 
out  to  sea  should  there  be  any  hope  of  a  rescue.  As 
my  knowledge  of  English  was  at  this  time  not  very 
perfect,  the  girls  took  it  upon  themselves  to  improve 
me,  and  I  made  rapid  progress  under  their  vivacious 
tuition.  They  would  promptly  correct  me  in  the 
pronunciation  of  certain  vowels  when  I  read  aloud 
from  the  only  book  I  possessed — the  Anglo-French 
Testament  I  have  already  mentioned.  They  were, 
by  the  way,  exceedingly  interested  in  the  records  of 
my  daily  life,  sensations,  &c.,  which  I  had  written  in 
blood  in  the  margins  of  my  little  Bible  whilst  on  the 
island  in  Timor  Sea.  About  this  time  I  tried  to 
make  some  ink,  having  quill  pens  in  plenty  from  the 
bodies  of  the  wild  geese ;  but  the  experiment  was 
a  failure. 

Both  girls,  as  I  have  already  hinted,  had  wonderful 
memories,  and  could  recite  numberless  passages  which 
they  had  learnt  at  school.  Blanche,  the  elder  girl, 
would  give  her  sister  and  myself  lessons  in  elocution  ; 
and  I  should  like  to  say  a  word  to  teachers  and 
children  on  the  enormous  utility  of  cornmitttng  some- 
thing to  memory — whether  poems,  songs,  or  passages 
from   historical  or  classical  works.      It  is,  of  course, 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  235 

very  unlikely  that  any  one  who  reads  these  lines 
will  be  cast  away  as  we  were,  but  still  one  never 
knows  what  the  future  has  in  store ;  and  I  have 
known  pioneers  and  prospectors  who  have  ventured 
into  the  remoter  wilds,  and  emerged  therefrom  years 
after,  to  give  striking  testimony  as  to  the  usefulness 
of  being  able  to  sing  or  recite  in  a  loud  voice. 

Sometimes  we  would  have  an  improvised  concert, 
each  of  us  singing  whatever  best  suited  the  voice  ; 
or  we  would  all  join  together  in  a  rollicking  glee. 
One  day,  I  remember,  I  started  off  with — 

"A  notre  heureux  s^jour," 

but  almost  immediately  I  realised  how  ridiculously 
inappropriate  the  words  were.  Still,  I  struggled  on 
through  the  first  verse,  but  to  my  amazement,  before 
I  could  start  the  second,  the  girls  joined  in  with 
"  God  Save  the  Queen,"  which  has  exactly  the  same 
air.  The  incident  is  one  that  should  appeal  to  all 
British  people,  including  even  her  Most  Gracious 
Majesty  herself.  As  the  girls'  voices  rose,  half 
sobbingly,  in  the  old  familiar  air,  beloved  of  every 
English-speaking  person,  tears  fairly  ran  down  their 
fair  but  sad  young  faces,  and  I  could  not  help  being 
struck  with  the  pathos  of  the  scene. 

But  all  things  considered,  these  were  really  happy 
days  for  all  of  us,  at  any  rate  in  comparison  with 
those  we  had  previously  experienced.  We  had  by 
this  time  quite  an  orchestra  of  reed  flutes  and  the 
fiddles  aforesaid,  whose  strings  were  of  gut  procured 
from  the  native  wild-cat — a  very  little  fellow,  by  the 
way,  about  the  size  of  a  fair-sized  rat ;  I  found  him 
everywhere.      These    cats   were    great    thieves,    and 


236   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

only  roamed  about  at  night.  I  trapped  them  in 
great  numbers  by  means  of  an  ingenious  native 
arrangement  of  pointed  sticks  of  wood,  which,  while 
providing  an  easy  entrance,  yet  confronted  the  out- 
going cat  with  a  formidable  chevaux-de-frise.  The  bait 
I  used  was  meat  in  an  almost  putrid  condition. 

I  could  not  handle  the  prisoners  in  the  morning, 
because  they  scratched  and  bit  quite  savagely ;  I 
therefore  forked  them  out  with  a  spear.  As  regards 
their  own  prey,  they  waged  perpetual  warfare  against 
the  native  rats.  The  skin  of  these  cats  was  beauti- 
fully soft,  and  altogether  they  were  quite  leopards  in 
miniature.  Best  of  all,  they  made  excellent  eating, 
the  more  so  in  that  their  flesh  was  almost  the  only 
meat  dish  that  had  not  the  eternal  flavour  of  the 
eucalyptus  leaf,  which  all  our  other  "joints  "  possessed. 
The  girls  never  knew  that  they  were  eating  cats,  to 
say  nothing  about  rats.  In  order  to  save  their  feel- 
ings, I  told  them  that  both  "  dishes  "  were  squirrels  ! 

My  hair  at  this  time  was  even  longer  than  the 
girls'  own,  so  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  provided  bows 
for  the  fiddles.  My  companions  took  great  delight 
in  dressing  my  absurdly  long  tresses,  using  combs 
which  I  had  made  out  of  porcupines'  quills. 

Our  contentment  was  a  great  source  of  joy  to 
Yamba,  who  was  now  fully  convinced  that  I  would 
settle  down  among  her  people  for  ever. 

The  blacks  were  strangely  affected  by  our  singing. 
Any  kind  of  civilised  music  or  singing  was  to  them 
anathema.  What  they  liked  best  was  the  harsh 
uproar  made  by  pieces  of  wood  beaten  together,  or 
the  weird  jabbering  and  chanting  that  accompanied 
a    big    feast.        Our    singing    they    likened    to    the 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF 


237 


howling  of  the  dingoes  !      They  were  sincere,  hardly 
complimentary. 


DRESSING   MY   HAIR 


Elsewhere  I  have  alluded  to  the  horror  the  girls 
had  of  being  left  alone.  Whenever  I  went  off  with 
the  men  on  a  hunting  expedition  I  left  them  in  charge 


238   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

of  my  other  women-folk,  who  were  thoroughly  capable 
of  looking  after  them.  I  also  persuaded  the  natives 
to  keep  some  distance  away  from  our  dwelling,  parti- 
cularly when  they  were  about  to  hold  a  cannibal 
feast,  so  that  the  girls  were  never  shocked  by  such 
a  fearful  sight.  Certainly  they  had  known  of  canni- 
balism in  their  old  camp,  but  I  told  them  that  my 
own  people  were  a  superior  race  of  natives,  who  were 
not  addicted  to  this  loathsome  practice. 

Although  we  had  long  since  lost  count  of  the  days, 
we  always  set  aside  one  day  in  every  seven  and  re- 
cognised it  as  Sunday,  when  we  held  a  kind  of  service 
in  our  spacious  hut.  Besides  the  girls,  Yamba,  and 
myself,  only  our  own  women-folk  were  admitted, 
because  I  was  careful  never  to  attempt  to  proselytise 
any  of  the  natives,  or  wean  them  from  their  ancient 
beliefs.  The  girls  were  religious  in  the  very  best 
sense  of  the  term,  and  they  knew  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  almost  by  heart.  They  read  the  Lessons, 
and  I  confess  they  taught  me  a  good  deal  about 
religion  which  I  had  not  known  previously.  Blanche 
would  read  aloud  the  most  touching  and  beautiful 
passages  from  the  Bible ;  and  even  as  I  write  I 
can  recall  her  pale,  earnest  face,  with  its  pathetic 
expression  and  her  low,  musical  voice,  as  she  dwelt 
upon  passages  likely  to  console  and  strengthen  us 
in  our  terrible  position.  The  quiet  little  discussions 
we  had  together  on  theological  subjects  settled,  once 
and  for  all,  many  questions  that  had  previously  vexed 
me  a  great  deal. 

Both  girls  were  devoted  adherents  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  could  repeat  most  of  the  Church 
services  entirely  from  memory.      They  wanted  to  do 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  239 

a  little  missionary  work  among  the  blacks,  but  I  gently 
told  them  I  thought  this  inadvisable,  as  any  rupture 
in  our  friendly  relations  with  the  natives  would  have 
been  quite  fatal — if  not  to  our  lives,  at  least  to  our 
chances  of  reaching  civilisation.  Moreover,  my 
people  were  not  by  any  means  without  a  kind  of 
religion  of  their  own.  They  believed  in  the  omnipo- 
tence of  a  Great  Spirit  in  whose  hands  their  destinies 
rested  ;  and  him  they  worshipped  with  much  the  same 
adoration  which  Christians  give  to  God.  The  funda- 
mental difference  was  that  the  sentiment  animating 
them  was  not  love^  hut /ear :  propitiation  rather  than 
adoration. 

We  sang  the  usual  old  hymns  at  our  Sunday 
services,  and  I  soon  learned  to  sing  them  myself. 
On  my  part,  I  taught  the  girls  such  simple  hymns  as 
the  one  commencing  *^  Une  nacelle  en  silence"  which 
I  had  learnt  at  Sunday-school  in  Switzerland.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  this  was  Bruno's  favourite 
air.  Poor  Bruno !  he  took  more  or  less  kindly  to 
all  songs — except  the  Swiss  j'ddellmgs,  which  he  simply 
detested.  When  I  started  one  of  these  plaintive 
ditties  Bruno  would  first  protest  by  barking  his 
loudest,  and  if  I  persisted,  he  would  simply  go  away 
in  disgust  to  some  place  where  he  could  not  hear  the 
hated  sounds.  On  Sunday  evening  we  generally 
held  a  prayer-service  in  the  hut,  and  at  such  times 
offered  up  most  fervent  supplications  for  delivery. 

Often  I  have  seen  these  poor  girls  lifting  up  their 
whole  souls  in  prayer,  quite  oblivious  for  the  moment 
of  their  surroundings,  until  recalled  to  a  sense  of  their 
awful  positions  by  the  crash  of  an  unusually  large 
wave  on  the  rocks. 


240  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

The  girls  knew  no  more  of  Australian  geography 
than  I  did  ;  and  when  I  mention  that  I  merely  had 
a  vague  idea  that  the  great  cities  of  the  continent — 
Sydney,  Adelaide,  Perth,  and  Melbourne — all  lay  in 
a  southerly  direction,  you  may  imagine  how  dense 
was  my  ignorance  of  the  great  island.  I  am  now  the 
strongest  possible  advocate  of  a  sound  geographical 
training  in  schools. 

On  ordinary  days  we  indulged  in  a  variety  of 
games,  the  principal  one  being  a  form  of  "rounders." 
I  made  a  ball  out  of  opossum  skin,  stuffed  with  the 
light  soft  bark  of  the  paper-tree,  and  stitched  with 
gut.  We  used  a  yam-stick  to  strike  it  with.  My 
native  women  attendants  often  joined  in  the  fun,  and 
our  antics  provided  a  vast  amount  of  amusement  for 
the  rest  of  the  tribe.  The  girls  taught  me  cricket, 
and  in  due  time  I  tried  to  induce  the  blacks  to  play 
the  British  national  game,  but  with  little  success. 
We  made  the  necessary  bats  and  stumps  out  of  hard 
acacia,  which  I  cut  down  with  my  tomahawk.  The 
natives  themselves,  however,  made  bats  much  better 
than  mine,  simply  by  whittling  flat  their  waddies ; 
and  they  soon  became  expert  batsmen.  But  unfor- 
tunately they  failed  to  see  why  they  should  run  after 
the  ball,  especially  when  they  had  knocked  it  a  very 
great  distance  away.  Running  about  in  this  manner, 
they  said,  was  only  fit  work  for  women,  and  was 
quite  beneath  their  dignity.  Yamba  and  I  fielded, 
but  soon  found  ourselves  unequal  to  the  task,  owing 
to  the  enormous  distances  we  had  to  travel  in  search 
of  the  ball.  Therefore  we  soon  abandoned  the 
cricket,  and  took  up  football,  which  was  very  much 
more  successful. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  241 

We  had  a  nice  large  football  made  of  soft  goose- 
skin  stuffed  with  the  paper  bark  ;  and  in  considering 
our  game  you  must  always  bear  in  mind  that  boots 
or  footgear  of  any  kind  were  quite  unknown.  The 
great  drawback  of  football,  from  the  native  point  of 
view,  was  that  it  entailed  so  much  exertion,  which 
could  be  otherwise  expended  in  a  far  more  profitable 
and  practical  manner.  They  argued  that  if  they  put 
the  exertion  requisite  for  a  game  of  football  into  a 
hunt  for  food,  they  would  have  enough  meat  to  last 
them  for  many  days.  It  was,  of  course,  utterly  im- 
possible to  bring  them  round  to  my  view  of  sports 
and  games.  With  regard  to  the  abandoned  cricket, 
they  delighted  in  hitting  the  ball  and  in  catching  it 
— oh  !  they  were  wonderfully  expert  at  this — but  as 
to  running  after  the  ball,  this  was  quite  impossible. 

About  this  time  the  girls  showed  me  the  steps  of 
an  Irish  jig,  which  I  quickly  picked  up  and  soon 
became  quite  an  adept,  much  to  the  delight  of  the 
natives,  who  never  tired  of  watching  my  gyrations. 
I  kept  them  in  a  constant  state  of  wonderment,  so 
that  even  my  very  hair — now  about  three  feet  long — 
commanded  their  respect  and  admiration  ! 

Sometimes  I  would  waltz  with  the  younger  girl, 
whilst  her  sister  whistled  an  old  familiar  air.  When 
I  danced,  the  blacks  would  squat  in  a  huge  circle 
around  me  ;  those  in  the  front  rank  keeping  time  by 
beating  drums  that  I  had  made  and  presented  to 
them.  The  bodies  of  the  drums  were  made  from 
sections  of  trees  which  I  found  already  hollowed  out 
by  the  ants.  These  w^onderful  little  insects  would  bore 
through  and  through  the  core  of  the  trunk,  leaving  only 
the   outer   shell,   which   soon   became   light   and   dry. 

Q 


242   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

I  then  scraped  out  with  my  tomahawk  any  of  the 
rough  inner  part  that  remained,  and  stretched  over 
the  ends  of  each  section  a  pair  of  the  thinnest  wallaby 
skins  I  could  find ;  these  skins  were  held  taut  by 
sinews  from  the  tail  of  a  kangaroo.  I  tried  emu- 
skins  for  the  drum-heads,  but  found  they  were  no 
good,  as  they  soon  became  perforated  when  I  scraped 
them. 

Never  a  day  passed  but  we  eagerly  scanned  the 
glistening  sea  in  the  hope  of  sighting  a  passing  sail. 
One  vessel  actually  came  right  into  our  bay  from  the 
north,  but  she  suddenly  turned  right  back  on  the 
course  she  had  come.  She  was  a  cutter-rigged  vessel, 
painted  a  greyish-white,  and  of  about  fifty  tons 
burden.  She  was  probably  a  Government  vessel — 
possibly  the  Claud  Hamilton^  a  South  Australian 
revenue  boat  stationed  at  Port  Darwin — ^as  she 
flew  the  British  ensign  at  the  mast-head  ;  whereas  a 
pearler  would  have  flown  it  at  the  peak.  The  moment 
we  caught  sight  of  that  ship  I  am  afraid  we  lost  our 
heads.  We  screamed  aloud  with  excitement,  and  ran 
like  mad  people  up  and  down  the  beach,  waving 
branches  and  yelling  like  maniacs.  I  even  waved 
wildly  my  long,  luxuriant  hair.  Unfortunately,  the 
wind  was  against  us,  blowing  from  the  WSW. 
We  were  assisted  in  our  frantic  demonstration  by 
quite  a  crowd  of  natives  with  branches  ;  and  I  think 
it  possible  that,  even  if  we  had  been  seen,  the  people 
on  the  ship  would  have  mistaken  our  efforts  for  a  more 
hostile  demonstration. 

When  it  was  too  late,  and  the  ship  almost  out  of 
sight,  I  suddenly  realised  that  I  had  made  another 
fatal  mistake  in  having  the  blacks  with  me.     Had  I 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  243 

and  the  two  girls  been  alone  on  the  beach  I  feel  sure 
the  officers  of  the  ship  would  have  detected  our  white 
skins  through  their  glasses.  But,  indeed,  we  may  well 
have  escaped  notice  altogether. 

There  was  a  terrible  scene  when  the  supposed 
Government  vessel  turned  back  on  her  course  and 
passed  swiftly  out  of  sight.  The  girls  threw  them- 
selves face  downwards  on  the  beach,  and  wept  wildly 
and  hysterically  in  the  very  depths  of  violent  despair. 
I  can  never  hope  to  tell  you  what  a  bitter  and 
agonising  experience  it  was — the  abrupt  change  from 
delirious  excitement  at  seeing  a  ship  steering  right 
into  our  bay,  to  the  despairing  shock  of  beholding  it 
turn  away  from  us  even  quicker  than  it  came. 


CHAPTER   XII 

The  girls  in  sun-bonnets — I  advise  the  blacks — Fatal  excitement — Last 
moments — The  catastrophe — I  cannot  realise  it — A  fearful  contrast 
— "  Only  a  withered  flower  " — Bruno's  grief — Steering  by  the  ant- 
hills— Avoiding  the  forests — Myriads  of  rats — The  flowing  of  the 
tide — Rats  and  the  native  children — Clouds  of  locusts — Fish  from 
the  clouds. 

THE  weeks  gradually  grew  into  months,  and  still 
we  were  apparently  no  nearer  civilisation  than  ever. 
Again  and  again  we  made  expeditions  to  see  whether 
it  were  possible  for  the  girls  to  reach  Port  Darwin 
overland;  but,  unfortunately,  I  had  painted  for  them 
in  such  vivid  colours  the  tortures  of  thirst  which  I  had 
undergone  on  my  journey  towards  Cape  York,  that 
they  were  always  afraid  to  leave  what  was  now  their 
home  to  go  forth  unprovided  into  the  unknown.  Some- 
times a  fit  of  depression  so  acute  would  come  over 
them,  that  they  would  shut  themselves  up  in  their 
room  and  not  show  themselves  for  a  whole  day. 

We  had  a  very  plentiful  supply  of  food,  but  one 
thing  the  girls  missed  very  much  was  milk, — which  of 
course,  was  an  unheard-of  luxury  in  these  regions. 
We  had  a  fairly  good  substitute,  however,  in  a  certain 
creamy  and  bitter-tasting  juice  which  we  obtained  from 
a  palm-tree.  This  *'milk,"  when  we  got  used  to  it, 
we  found  excellent  when  used  with  the  green  corn. 
The  corn-patch  was  carefully  fenced  in  from  kangaroos, 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   245 

and  otherwise  taken  care  of;  and  I  may  here  remark 
that  I  made  forks  and  plates  of  wood  for  my  fair 
companions,  and  also  built  them  a  proper  elevated  bed, 
with  fragrant  eucalyptus  leaves  and  grass  for  bedding. 
For  the  cold  niglits  there  was  a  covering  of  skin  rugs, 
with  an  overall  quilt  made  from  the  wild  flax. 


FASHIONABLE   COSTUMES 


The  girls  made  themselves  sun-bonnets  out  of  palm- 
leaves  ;  while  their  most  fashionable  costume  was  com- 
posed of  the  skins  of  birds  and  marsupials,  cunningly 
stitched  together  by  Yamba.  During  the  cold  winter 
months  of  July  and  August  we  camped  at  a  more 
sheltered  spot,  a  little  to  the  north,  where  t'here  was 
a  range  of  mountains,  whose  principal  peak  was  shaped 
like  a  sugar-loaf. 


246  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

I  frequently  accompanied  the  warriors  on  their 
fighting  expeditions,  but  did  not  use  my  stilts,  mainly 
because  we  never  again  met  so  powerful  an  enemy 
as  we  had  battled  with  on  that  memorable  occasion, 
My  people  were  often  victorious,  but  once  or  twice  we 
got  beaten  by  reason  of  the  other  side  having  drawn 
first  blood.  My  natives  took  their  reverses  with  a 
very  good  grace,  and  were  never  very  depressed  or 
inclined  to  view  me  with  less  favour  because  of  their 
want  of  success.  We  were  always  the  best  of  friends, 
and  I  even  ventured  gradually  to  wean  them  from 
cannibalism. 

I  knew  they  ate  human  flesh,  not  because  they  felt 
hungry,  but  because  they  hoped  to  acquire  the  ad- 
ditional valour  of  the  warrior  they  were  eating.  I 
therefore  diplomatically  pointed  out  to  them  that,  in 
the  first  place,  all  kinds  of  dreadful  diseases  which 
the  dead  man  might  have  had  would  certainly  be 
communicated  to  them,  and  in  this  I  was  providentially 
borne  out  by  a  strange  epidemic.  The  second  con- 
sideration I  mentioned  was  that  by  making  anklets, 
bracelets,  and  other  ornaments  out  of  the  dead  braves' 
hair,  they  could  acquire  for  themselves  in  a  much 
more  efficacious  manner  the  valour  and  other  estimable 
qualities  of  the  departed  warrior. 

Whilst  I  was  on  this  subject  I  also  advised  them 
strongly  and  impressively  never  wantonly  to  attack 
white  men,  but  rather  to  make  friendly  advances 
towards  them.  I  often  wonder  now  whether  explorers 
who  follow  in  my  track  will  notice  the  absence  of 
cannibalism  and  the  friendly  overtures  of  the  natives. 

Two  half  painful,  half  merry  years,  passed  by.  We 
had  seen  several  ships  passing  out  at  sea,  and  on  more 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  247 

than  one  occasion  Yamba  and  I,  taught  by  previous 
lessons,  had  jumped  into  our  canoe  and  pulled  for 
many  miles  in  the  direction  of  the  sail,  leaving  the 
girls  watching  us  eagerly  from  the  shore.  But  it  was 
always  useless,  and  we  were  compelled  to  return  with- 
out having  accomplished  our  purpose ;  we  merely  in- 
flicted additional  pain  on  ourselves. 

1  now  come  to  what  is  possibly  the  most  painful 
episode  of  my  career,  and  one  which  I  find  it  impos- 
sible to  discuss,  or  write  about,  without  very  real  pain. 
Even  at  this  distance  of  time  I  cannot  recall  that 
tragic  day  without  bitter  tears  ."oming  into  my  eyes, 
and  being  afQicted  with  a  gnawing  remorse  which  can 
never  completely  die  in  my  heart.  Do  not,  I  beg  of 
you,  in  considering  my  actions,  ask  me  why  I  did  not 
do  this,  or  that,  or  the  other.  In  terrible  crises  I 
believe  we  become  almost  mechanical,  and  are  not 
responsible  for  what  we  do.  I  have  often  thought 
that,  apart  from  our  own  volition,  each  set  of  nerves 
and  fibres  in  our  being  has  a  will  of  its  own. 

Well,  one  gloriously  fine  day  we  sighted  a  ship 
going  very  slowly  across  the  gulf,  several  miles  away. 
Would  to  God  we  had  never  seen  her !  We  were 
thrown,  as  usual,  into  a  perfect  frenzy  of  wild  excite- 
ment, and  the  girls  dashed  here  and  there  like  people 
possessed.  Of  course,  I  determined  to  intercept  the 
vessel  if  possible,  and  the  girls  at  once  expressed  their 
intention  of  coming  with  me.  I  attempted  earnestly 
to  dissuade  them  from  this,  but  they  wept  pitifully 
and  implored  me  to  let  them  come.  They  were  filled 
with  an  ungovernable  longing  to  get  awa}- — the  same 
longing,  perhaps,  that  animates  a  caged  bird  who, 
although   well    fed    and   kindly    treated,    soars    away 


248   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

without  a  moment's  hesitation  when  an  opportunity 
occurs.  Quite  against  my  better  judgment,  I  let  them 
come.  Every  second  was  precious  and  every  argu- 
ment futile.  While  Yamba  was  getting  ready  the 
canoe  I  rushed  from  one  group  of  natives  to  the  other, 
coaxing,  promising,  imploring.  I  pointed  out  to  them 
that  they  could  propel  their  catamarans  faster  than  I 
could  paddle  my  canoe ;  and  I  promised  them  that  if  1 
reached  the  ship  I  would  send  them  presents  from 
the  white  man's  land  of  tomahawks  and  knives;  gaily 
coloured  cloths  and  gorgeous  jewellery.  But  they 
were  only  too  ready  to  help  me  without  any  of  these 
inducements  ;  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  at  least 
twenty  catamarans,  each  containing  one  or  two  men, 
put  off  from  the  shore  in  my  wake  and  made  directly 
towards  the  ship,  whilst  I  struck  off  at  a  tangent  so 
as  to  head  her  off.  I  now  see  that  without  doubt  we 
must  have  presented  a  ver}^  formidable  appearance  to 
the  people  on  the  vessel  as  we  paddled  over  the  sunlit 
seas,  racing  one  another,  yelling,  and  gesticulating 
hke  madmen.  Of  course,  the  people  on  board  quite 
naturally  thought  they  were  being  attacked  by  a 
savage  flotilla.  But  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment 
I  never  gave  this  a  thought.  Had  I  only  left  my 
faithful  natives  behind  all  might  have  been  well. 
Yamba  and  I  kept  the  canoe  well  ahead,  and  we 
reached  the  neighbourhood  of  the  ship  first. 

As  we  approached,  the  excitement  of  the  girls  was 
pamful  to  witness.  They  could  scarcely  contain  them- 
selves for  joy ;  and  as  I  forcibly  prevented  them  from 
standing  up  in  the  frail  canoe,  they  contented  them- 
selves with  frantically  waving  their  hands  and  scream- 
ing themselves  hoarse. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  249 

Nearing  the  vessel  I  was  surprised  to  see  the  top-sail 
being  hoisted,  but,  strange  to  say,  the  crew  kept 
well  out  of  sight.  This  was  easy  to  do,  considering 
the  spread  of  canvas.  She  was  not  a  Malay  vessel, 
being  decidedly  of  European  rig.  She  was  only  a 
small  craft,  of  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  tons,  with  one 
mast  carrying  a  main-sail  and  stay-sail,  in  addition  to 
the  top-sail  that  had  been  hoisted  as  we  approached. 
To  us,  however,  she  was  a  "  ship."  We  were  now 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  away,  and  I  sud- 
denly leapt  to  my  feet  and  coo-eed  several  times. 
Still  no  one  showed  himself,  and  not  a  soul  was  visible 
on  board.  My  own  joyful  excitement  speedily  turned 
to  heart-sickness,  alarm,  and  even  terror.  By  this 
time  the  flotilla  of  catamarans  was  close  behind  me; 
and  just  as  I  was  about  to  sit  down  and  take  to  my 
paddle  again,  so  as  to  advance  still  closer  to  the  vessel, 
the  loud  report  of  a  gun  was  heard ;  and  then — well, 
what  followed  next  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  me  to 
describe  accurately.  Whether  I  was  wounded  by  the 
shot,  or  whether  the  girls  suddenly  stood  up,  causing 
me  to  lose  my  balance  and  fall  on  the  side  of  the  canoe 
and  cut  my  thigh,  I  do  not  know. 

At  any  rate,  I  crashed  heavily  overboard  in  spite  of 
Yamba's  desperate  attempt  to  save  me.  The  next 
moment  I  had  forgotten  all  about  the  ship,  and  was 
only  conscious  of  Yamba  swimming  close  by  my  side, 
and  occasionally  gripping  my  long  hair  when  she 
thought  I  was  going  under.  We  righted  the  canoe 
and  climbed  in  as  quickly  as  we  could.  I  think  I  was 
dazed  and  incapable  of  any  coherent  thought.  As  I 
collapsed  in  the  bottom  of  the  canoe,  I  suddenly 
realised   that  Yamba  and   I   were  alone;   and  sitting 


2  50  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

up,  I  gasped,  "The  girls,  the  girls  !  Where  are  they  ? 
Oh,  where  are  they  ?     We  must  save  them  !  " 

Alas !  they  had  sunk  beneath  the  smiling  waves, 
and  they  never  rose  again.  True,  they  were  expert 
swimmers,  but  I  suppose  the  terrible  excitement, 
followed  by  the  sudden  shock,  was  too  much  for  them, 
and  as  they  sank  for  the  first  time  they  probably  clung 
to  each  other  in  the  embrace  of  death.  God  knows 
best.  Perhaps  it  was  better  that  He  should  take  my 
loved  ones  from  me  than  that  they  should  be  dragged 
through  the  terrible  years  that  followed. 

But  for  a  long  time  I  utterly  refused  to  believe  that 
my  darlings  were  lost — they  were  truly  as  sisters  to 
me ;  and  Yamba  and  I  and  the  natives  dived  for  them 
time  after  time,  searching  the  sea  in  every  direction. 
But  at  length,  seeing  that  I  was  exhausted,  Yamba 
forcibly  detained  me,  and  told  me  that  I  myself  would 
inevitably  drown  if  I  went  into  the  water  again.  The 
wound  in  my  thigh  (I  am  uncertain  to  this  day  whether 
it  was  the  result  of  the  gun-shot  or  mere  collision  with 
the  rough  gunwale  of  the  canoe)  was  bleeding  freely ; 
and  as  it  was  also  pointed  out  to  me  that  there 
was  a  very  strong  and  swift  current  at  this  spot,  I 
allowed  myself  to  be  taken  away  without  any  further 
opposition. 

I  simply  could  not  realise  my  bereavement.  It 
seemed  too  terrible  and  stunning  to  think,  that  when 
God  had  provided  me  with  these  two  charming  com- 
panions, who  were  all  in  all  to  me  every  moment  of 
my  existence,  as  a  consolation  for  the  horrors  I  had 
gone  through — it  seemed  impossible,  I  say,  that  they 
should  be  snatched  from  me  just  at  the  very  moment 
when  salvation  seemed  within  our  reach.    Every  detail 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  251 

of  the  incident  passed  before  my  mental  vision,  but  I 
could  not  grasp  it — I  could  not  seem  to  think  it  real. 
I  can  never  explain  it.  These  poor  girls  were  more  to 
me  than  loving  sisters.  They  turned  the  black  night 
of  my  desolate  existence  into  sunshine,  and  they  were 
perpetually  devising  some  sweet  little  surprise — some 
little  thing  which  would  please  me  and  add  additional 
brightness  to  our  daily  lives.  This  dreadful  thing 
happened  many  years  ago,  but  to  this  day,  and  to 
the  day  of  my  death,  I  feel  sure  I  shall  suffer  agonies 
of  grief  and  remorse  (I  blame  myself  for  not  having 
forbidden  them  to  go  in  the  canoe)  for  this  terrible 
catastrophe. 

After  we  returned  to  the  land,  I  haunted  the  sea- 
shore for  hours,  hoping  to  see  the  bodies  rise  to  the 
surface ;  but  I  watched  in  vain.  When  at  length  the 
full  magnitude  of  the  disaster  dawned  upon  me,  despair 
— the  utter  abandonment  of  despair — filled  my  soul  for 
the  first  time.  Never  again  would  my  sweet  com- 
panions cheer  my  solitary  moments.  Never  again 
would  I  see  their  loved  forms,  or  hear  their  low, 
musical  voices.  Never  again  would  we  play  together 
like  children  on  the  sand.  Never  again  would  we 
build  aerial  castled  about  the  bright  and  happy  future 
that  was  in  store  for  us,  looking  back  from  the  bourne 
of  civilisation  on  our  fantastic  adventures.  Never  again 
should  we  compare  our  lot  with  that  of  Robinson 
Crusoe  or  the  Swiss  Family  Robinson. 

My  bright  dream  had  passed  away,  and  with  a 
sudden  revulsion  of  feeling  I  realised  that  the  people 
around  me  were  repulsive  cannibals,  among  whom  I 
was  apparently  doomed  to  pass  the  remainder  of  my 
hideous  days — a  fate  infinitely  more  terrible  than  that 


252   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

of  joining  my  darlings  beneath  the  restless  waves,  that 
beat  for  ever  on  that  lonely  shore.  I  was  a  long 
time  before  I  could  even  bring  myself  to  be  thankful 


I    HAUNTED   THE   SEA-SHORE   FOR   HOURS 


for  Yamba's  escape,  which  was  no  doubt  dreadfully 
ungrateful  of  me.  I  can  only  ask  your  pity  and 
sympathy  in   my  terrible   affliction.     What  made  my 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  253 

sorrow  and  remorse  the  more  poignant,  was  the  reflec- 
tion that  if  I  had  retained  one  atom  of  my  self-posses- 
sion I  would  never  have  dreamed  of  approaching  the 
little  European  vessel  at  the  head  of  a  whole  flotilla 
of  catamarans,  filled  with  yelling  and  gesticulating 
savages.  As  to  the  people  on  board  the  vessel,  I 
exonerated  them  then,  and  I  exonerate  them  now, 
from  all  blame.  Had  you  or  I  been  on  board,  we 
should  probably  have  done  exactly  the  same  thing 
under  the  circumstances. 

Clearly  the  only  reasonable  plan  of  action  was  to 
have  gone  alone;  but  then,  at  critical  times,  even  the 
wisest  among  us  is  apt  to  lose  his  head.  God  knows 
I  paid  dearly  enough  for  my  lack  of  judgment  on  this 
melancholy  occasion. 

My  wound  was  not  at  all  serious,  and,  thanks  to 
Yamba's  care,  it  quickly  healed,  and  I  was  able  to  get 
about  once  more. 

But  I  ought  to  tell  you  that  when  we  returned  I 
could  not  bear  to  go  into  our  hut,  where  every  little 
bunch  of  withered  flowers,  every  garment  of  skin,  and 
every  implement,  proclaimed  aloud  the  stunning  loss 
I  had  sustained.  No,  I  went  back  direct  to  the  camp 
of  the  natives,  and  remained  among  them  until  the 
moment  came  for  my  departure.  I  think  it  was  in  the 
soft,  still  nights  that  I  felt  it  most.  I  wept  till  I  was 
as  weak  as  a  baby.  Oh  the  torments  of  remorse  I 
endured — the  fierce  resentment  against  an  all-wise  Pro- 
vidence !  ''  Alone  !  alone  !  alone  !  "  I  would  shriek  in  an 
agony  of  wretchedness;  "Gone!  gone!  gone!  Oh,  come 
back  to  me,  come  back  to  me,  I  cannot  live  here  now." 

And  I  soon  realised  that  it  was  impossible  for  me 
to  remain  there  any  longer.    There  was  much  weeping 


2  54  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

and  lamentation  among  the  native  women,  but  I 
guessed  it  was  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  poor 
girls,  as  out  of  sympathy  for  the  loss  the  great  white 
chief  had  sustained.  I  think  Yamba  went  among 
them,  and  pointed  out  the  magnitude  of  the  disaster; 
otherwise  they  would  have  failed  to  grasp  it.  What 
was  the  loss  of  a  woman  or  two  to  them  ?  I  felt, 
I  say,  that  I  could  not  settle  down  in  my  hut  again, 
and  I  was  consumed  with  an  intense  longing  to  go 
away  into  the  wilderness  and  there  hide  my  grief. 
In  making  an  attempt  to  reach  civilisation,  I  thought 
this  time  of  going  due  south,  so  that  perhaps  I  might 
ultimately  reach  Sydney,  or  Melbourne,  or  Adelaide. 
I  argued  thus  casually  to  myself,  little  dreaming  of 
the  vast  distances — mountain  ranges  and  waterless 
deserts — that  separated  me  from  these  great  cities^ 
For  all  I  knew,  I  might  have  come  upon  them  in  a  few 
weeks !  All  I  was  certain  of  was  that  they  lay  some- 
where to  the  south.  Time  was  no  object  to  me,  and 
I  might  as  well  be  walking  in  the  direction  of  civilisa- 
tion as  remaining  in  idle  misery  in  my  bay  home, 
brooding  over  the  disaster  that  had  clouded  my  life 
and  made  it  infinitely  more  intolerable  than  it  was 
before  the  girls  came. 

Yamba  instantly  agreed  to  accompany  me,  and  a 
few  weeks  after  the  loss  of  the  girls  we  started  out 
once  more  on  our  wanderings,  accompanied  by  my 
ever  faithful  dog. 

Bruno  also  missed  his  young  mistresses.  He  would 
moan  and  cry  pitifully,  and  run  aimlessly  up  and  down 
the  beach  looking  out  to  sea.  Ah  !  had  I  only  taken 
Bruno  on  that  fatal  day,  he  would  not  have  let  my 
dear  ones  drown ! 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  255 

As  I  have  said,  I  remained  only  a  few  weeks  in  my 
bay  home,  and  then  departed.  The  blacks,  too,  left 
the  spot,  for  they  never  stay  where  the  shadow  of 
death  lies,  fearing  the  unpleasant  attentions  of  the 
spirits  of  the  deceased.  The  parting  between  me  and 
my  people  was  a  most  affecting  one,  the  women  fairly 
howling  in  lamentations,  which  could  be  heard  ,a 
great  distance  away.  They  had  shown  such  genuine 
sympathy  with  me  in  my  misfortune  that  our  friend- 
ship had  very  materially  increased ;  but  in  spite  of 
this  good  feeling,  I  knew  I  could  never  be  happy 
among  them  again. 

So  we  started  off  into  the  unknown,  with  no  more 
provision  or  equipment  than  if  we  were  going  for  a 
stroll  of  a  mile  or  so.  Yamba  carried  her  yam-stick 
and  basket,  and  I  had  my  usual  weapons — tomahawk 
and  stiletto  in  my  belt,  and  bow  and  arrows  in  my 
hand.  I  never  dreamed  when  we  started  that  to 
strike  due  south  would  take  us  into  the  unexplored 
heart  of  the  continent.  Day  after  day,  however,  we 
walked  steadily  on  our  course,  steering  in  a  very 
curious  manner.  We  were  guided  by  the  ant-hills, 
which  are  always  built  facing  the  east,  whilst  the  top 
inclines  towards  the  north;  and  we  knew  that  the 
scratches  made  on  trees  by  the  opossums  were  invari- 
ably on  the  north  side. 

We  often  steered  by  the  habits  of  insects,  wasps' 
nests,  and  other  curious  auguries,  fixing  our  position 
at  night  by  the  stars  and  in  the  daytime  by  our  own 
shadows.  Yamba  always  went  in  front  and  I  followed. 
The  bush  teemed  with  fruits  and  roots.  After  leaving 
our  own  camp  in  the  Cambridge  Gulf  region  we  struck 
a  fine  elevated  land,   excellently  well  watered;   and 


256  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

later  on  we  followed  the  Victoria  River  in  a  south- 
easterly direction  through  part  of  the  Northern  Terri- 
tories of  South  Australia.  We  at  length  struck  a 
peculiar  country  covered  with  coarse  grass  ten  feet  or 
twelve  feet  high — not  unlike  the  sugar-cane  which  I 
afterwards  saw,  but  much  more  dense. 

It  was,  of  course,  impossible  for  us  to  pursue  our 
course  due  south,  owing  to  the  forests  and  ranges 
which  we  encountered;  we  had,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
to  follow  native  and  kangaroo  tracks  wherever  they 
took  us — east,  west,  and  even  north  occasionally, 
generally  to  water-holes.  The  progress  of  the  natives 
is  simply  from  one  water  supply  to  another.  But  as 
far  as  possible  we  pursued  our  way  south.  You  will 
understand  that  this  kind  of  travelling  was  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  we  experienced  on  the  Victoria 
River — which,  by  the  way,  traversed  a  very  fine 
country.  As  we  ascended  it  we  passed  many  isolated 
hills  of  perhaps  a  few  hundred  feet,  and  nowhere 
did  I  see  any  scrub  or  spinifex. 

After  leaving  the  Victoria  we  came  upon  a  more 
elevated  plateau  covered  with  rather  fine  but  short 
grass ;  the  trees  were  scarcer  here,  but  finer  and 
bigger.  There  was  plenty  of  water  in  the  native  wells 
and  in  the  hollows,  although  we  frequently  had  to 
remove  a  few  stones  to  get  at  it.  There  were  plenty 
of  kangaroos  and  emus  about,  as  well  as  turkeys ; 
these  latter  provided  us  with  an  unwonted  dish,  to  say 
nothing  of  their  delicious  eggs. 

Another  reason  for  our  coming  round  out  of  our 
course  when  we  came  to  forests  was  because  but  little 
food  was  found  in  them.  Kangaroos  and  other  animals 
were  seldom  or  never    found  there:    thev   abounded 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  257 

usually  in  the  more  scrubby  country.  Our  progress 
was  very  leisurely,  and,  as  we  met  tribe  after  tribe,  we 
ingratiated  ourselves  with  them  and  camped  at  their 
wells.  Occasionally  we  came  upon  curious  rivers  and 
lagoons  that  ran  into  the  earth  and  disappeared  in  the 
most  mysterious  way,  only  to  reappear  some  distance 
farther  on.  Of  course,  I  may  be  mistaken  in  this,  but 
such  at  any  rate  was  my  impression. 

One  day  as  we  were  marching  steadily  along,  Yamba 
startled  me  by  calling  out  excitedly,  **  Up  a  tree, — 
quick  !  Up  a  tree  !  "  And  so  saying  she  scampered 
up  the  nearest  tree  herself.  Now,  by  this  time  I  had 
become  so  accustomed  to  acting  upon  her  advice  un- 
questioningly,  that  without  waiting  to  hear  any  more  I 
made  a  dash  for  the  nearest  likely  tree  and  climbed 
into  it  as  fast  as  I  could.  Had  she  called  out  to  me, 
*^  Leap  into  the  river,"  I  should  have  done  so  without 
asking  a  question.  When  I  was  safely  in  the  branches, 
however,  I  called  out  to  her  (her  tree  was  only  a  few 
yards  away),  ^'What  is  the  matter?"  She  did  not 
reply,  but  pointed  to  a  vast  stretch  of  undulating 
country  over  which  we  had  just  come;  it  was  fairly 
well  wooded.  It  lingers  in  my  mind  as  a  region  in 
which  one  was  able  to  see  a  fairly  long  way  in  every 
direction — a  very  unusual  feature  in  the  land  of  "  Never 
Never"! 

I  looked,  but  at  first  could  see  nothing.  Presently, 
however,  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  whole  country  in 
the  far  distance  was  covered  with  a  black  mantle, 
which  appeared  to  be  made  up  of  living  creatures. 

Steadily  and  rapidly  this  great  mysterious  wave 
swept  along  towards  us  ;  and  seeing  that  I  was  both 
puzzled  and  alarmed,  Yamba  gave  me  to  understand 

R 


2  58   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

that  we  should  presently  be  surrounded  by  myriads  of 
ratSy  stretching  away  in  every  direction  like  a  living 
sea.  The  phenomenon  was  evidently  known  to  Yamba, 
and  she  went  on  to  explain  that  these  creatures  were 
migrating  from  the  lowlands  to  the  mountains,  knowing 
by  instinct  that  the  season  of  the  great  floods  was  at 
hand.  That  weird  and  extraordinary  sight  will  live  in 
my  memory  for  ever.  I  question  whether  a  spectacle 
so  fantastic  and  awe-inspiring  was  ever  dealt  with, 
even  in  the  pages  of  quasi-scientific  fiction.  It  was 
impossible  for  me  to  observe  in  what  order  the  rats 
were  advancing,  on  account  of  the  great  stretch  of 
country  which  they  covered.  Soon,  however,  their 
shrill  squeals  were  distinctly  heard,  and  a  few  minutes 
later  the  edge  of  that  strange  tide  struck  our  tree  and 
swept  past  us  with  a  force  impossible  to  realise.  No 
living  thing  was  spared.  Snakes,  lizards — ay,  even 
the  biggest  kangaroos — succumbed  after  an  ineffectual 
struggle.  The  rats  actually  ate  those  of  their  fellows 
who  seemed  to  hesitate  or  stumble.  The  curious  thing 
was  that  the  great  army  never  seemed  to  stand  still. 
It  appeared  to  me  that  each  rat  simply  took  a  bite 
at  whatever  prey  came  his  wa}',  and  then  passed  on 
with  the  rest. 

I  am  unable  to  say  how  long  the  rats  were  in  passing 
— it  might  have  been  an  hour.  Yamba  told  me  that 
there  would  have  been  no  help  for  us  had  we  been 
overtaken  on  foot  by  these  migratory  rodents.  It 
is  my  opinion  that  no  creature  in  Nature,  from  the 
elephant  downwards,  could  have  lived  in  that  sea  of 
rats.  I  could  not  see  the  ground  between  them,  so 
closely  were  they  packed.  The  only  creatures  that 
escaped  them  were    birds.     The  incessant   squealing 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  259 

and  the  patter  of  their  Httle  feet  made  an  extraordinary 
sound,  comparable  only  to  the  sighing  of  the  wind  or 
the  beat  of  a  great  rain-storm.  I  ought  to  mention, 
though,  that  I  was  unable  accurately  to  determine  the 
sound  made  by  the  advancing  rats  owing  to  my  partial 
deafness,  which  you  will  remember  was  caused  by  the 
great  wave  which  dashed  me  on  to  the  deck  of  the 
Veiellajidy  just  before  landing  on  the  sand-spit  in  the 
Sea  of  Timor.  I  often  found  this  deafness  a  very 
serious  drawback,  especially  when  hunting.  I  was 
sometimes  at  a  loss  to  hear  the  '*coo-ee"  or  call  of  my 
natives.  Fortunate  men  !  they  did  not  even  understand 
what  deafness  meant.  Lunacy  also  was  unknown 
among  them,  and  such  a  thing  as  suicide  no  native  can 
possibly  grasp  or  understand.  In  all  my  wanderings 
I  only  met  one  idiot  or  demented  person.  He  had 
been  struck  by  a  falling  tree,  and  was  worshipped  as 
a  demi-god ! 

When  the  rats  had  passed  by,  we  watched  them 
enter  a  large  creek  and  swim  across,  after  which  they 
disappeared  in  the  direction  of  some  ranges  which 
were  not  very  far  away.  They  never  seemed  to  break 
their  ranks;  even  when  swimming,  one  beheld  the 
same  level  brownish  mass  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
Yamba  told  me  that  this  migration  of  rats  was  not 
at  all  uncommon,  but  that  the  creatures  rarely  moved 
about  in  such  vast  armies  as  the  one  that  had  just 
passed. 

I  also  learned  that  isolated  parties  of  migrating 
rats  were  responsible  for  the  horrible  deaths  of  many 
native  children,  who  had,  perhaps,  been  left  behind 
in  camp  by  their  parents,  who  had  gone  in  search 
of  water. 


26o  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Up  to  this  time  we  had  always  found  food  plenti- 
ful. On  our  southward  journey  a  particularly  pleasant 
and  convenient  article  of  diet  turned  up  (or  fell  down) 
in  the  form  of  the  inaru,  as  it  is  called,  which  collects 
on  the  leaves  of  trees  during  the  night.  Both  in  its 
appearance  and  manner  of  coming,  this  curious  sub- 
stance may  be  likened  to  the  manna  that  fell  in  the 
wilderness  for  the  benefit  of  the  Israelites.     This  maru 


A   LIVING    BRIDGE 

is  a  whitish  substance,  not  unlike  raw  cotton  in  appear- 
ance. The  natives  make  bread  of  it ;  it  is  rather  taste- 
less, but  is  very  nutritious,  and  only  obtained  at  certain 
times — for  example,  it  never  falls  at  the  time  of  full 
moon,  and  is  peculiar  to  certain  districts. 

During  this  great  southward  journey  many  strange 
things  happened,  and  we  saw  a  host  of  curious  sights. 
I  only  wish  I  could  trust  my  memory  to  place  these 
in  their  proper  chronological  order. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF      •  261 

We  had  several  visitations  of  locusts;  and  on  one 
occasion,  some  months  after  leaving  home,  they  settled 
upon  the  country  around  us  so  thickly  as  actually  to 
make  a  living  bridge  across  a  large  creek.  On  several 
occasions  I  have  had  to  dig  through  a  living  crust  of 
these  insects,  six  or  eight  inches  thick,  in  order  to 
reach  v^ater  at  a  water-hole.  These  locusts  are  of  a 
yellowish-brown  colour  (many  are  grey),  and  they 
range  in  length  from  two  to  four  inches. 

As  they  rise  in  the  air  they  make  a  strange  cracking, 
snapping  sound ;  and  they  were  often  present  in  such 
myriads  as  actually  to  hide  the  face  of  the  sun.  I 
found  them  excellent  eating  when  grilled  on  red-hot 
stones. 

Yamba,  of  course,  did  all  the  cooking,  making  a  fire 
with  her  ever-ready  fire-stick,  which  no  native  woman 
is  ever  without ;  and  while  she  looked  after  the  supply 
of  roots  and  opossum  meat,  I  generally  provided  the 
snakes,  emus,  and  kangaroos.  Our  shelter  at  night 
consisted  merely  of  a  small  gunyah  made  of  boughs, 
and  we  left  the  fire  burning  in  front  of  this  when 
we  turned  in. 

When  we  had  been  fully  three  months  out,  a  very 
extraordinary  thing  happened,  which  to  many  people 
would  be  incredible  were  it  not  recognised  as  a  well- 
known  Australian  phenomenon.  We  had  reached  a 
very  dry  and  open  grass  country,  where  there  was  not 
a  tree  to  be  seen  for  miles  and  miles.  Suddenly,  as 
Yamba  and  I  were  squatting  on  the  ground  enjoying 
a  meal,  we  saw  a  strange  black  cloud  looming  on  the 
horizon,  and  hailed  its  advent  with  the  very  greatest 
delight,  inasmuch  as  it  presaged  rain — which  is 
always  so  vitally  important  a  visitation  in  the  "  Never 


262   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Never."  We  waited  in  anticipation  until  the  cloud 
was  right  over  our  heads.  Then  the  deluge  com- 
menced, and  to  my  unbounded  amazement  I  found  that 
with  the  rain  live  fish  as  big  as  whitebait  were  falling 
from  the  clouds  I  When  this  wonderful  rain-storm 
had  passed,  large  pools  of  water  were  left  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  and  most  of  these  were  fairly 
alive  with  fish.  This  surface-water,  however,  evapo- 
rated in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  and  then,  as  the 
blazing  sun  beat  down  upon  the  fish-covered  country, 
we  found  the  region  growing  quite  intolerable  on 
account  of  the  awful  stench. 

Talking  of  storms,  I  have  seen  it  stated  that  the 
Australian  natives  are  in  a  state  of  high  glee  whenever 
they  hear  thunder.  This  is  perfectly  true,  but  I  have 
never  seen  any  explanation  of  this  joy.  It  is  simple 
enough.  The  natives  know  that  thunder  presages 
rain,  which  is  always  a  blessing  of  great  price  in  that 
thirsty  country. 

I  think  this  was  the  first  time  I  had  actually  seen 
it  rain  fish.  But  I  had  often  been  surprised,  to 
find  water-holes,  and  even  the  pools  in  grassy  plains, 
literally  alive  with  fish  a  few  days  after  a  storm.  And 
they  grew  with  astounding  rapidity,  provided  the  water 
did  not  evaporate.  This  was  in  the  vicinity  of  my 
Cambridge  Gulf  home. 

We  remained  in  the  neighbourhood  for  some  time, 
living  on  a  most  welcome  fish  diet.  Very  frequently 
in  our  wanderings  we  were  provided  with  another 
dainty  in  the  shape  of  a  worm,  which,  when  broiled 
over  charcoal,  had  the  flavour  of  a  walnut. 

These  worms  we  found,  in  the  grass  trees,  which 
grow  to   a  height   of  ten    to  twenty  feet,   and   have 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  263 

bare  trunks  surmounted  by  what  looks  at  a  distance 
like  a  big  bunch  of  drooping  bulrushes.  The  worms 
were  of  a  whitish  colour,  and  were  always  found  in  the 
interior  of  a  well-matured  or  decaying  stem ;  so  that 
all  we  had  to  do  was  to  push  the  tree  over  with  our 
feet  and  help  ourselves. 

In  the  course  of  our  wanderings  we  usually  went 
from  tribe  to  tribe,  staying  a  little  time  with  some, 
and  with  others  merely  exchanging  greetings.  With 
some  tribes  we  would  perhaps  travel  a  little  way  south, 
and  only  part  with  them  when  they  were  about  to 
strike  northwards;  and  as  their  course  was  simply 
from  water-hole  to  water-hole,  as  I  have  told  you,  it 
was  always  pretty  erratic. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

My  usual  introduction — A  serious  entertainment — The  power  of  the 
bow — Repulsive  blacks — Mysterious  spears — Waterless  wastes — 
A  battle  with  snakes — More  prestige — Rubies  thrown  away — 
Quarrying  extraordinary. 

OCCASIONALLY  one  of  the  tribes  would  display 
hostility  towards  us  at  first  sight,  but  I  generally 
managed  to  ingratiate  myself  into  their  good  graces 
by  the  exercise  of  a  little  diplomacy — and  acrobatics. 
Curiously  enough,  many  of  these  tribes  did  not  display 
much  surprise  at  seeing  a  white  man,  apparently  re- 
serving all  their  amazement  for  Bruno's  bark  and  the 
white  man's  wonderful  performances. 

I  may  here  remark  that,  in  the  event  of  our  coming 
across  a  hostile  tribe  who  fought  shy  of  my  friendly 
advances,  I  would,  without  ceremony,  introduce  myself 
by  dashing  into  their  midst  and  turning  a  few  somer- 
saults or  Catherine-wheels  such  as  the  London  gamins 
display  for  the  benefit  of  easily-pleased  excursionists. 
This  queer  entertainment  usually  created  roars  of 
laughter,  and  set  every  one  at  his  ease. 

I  remember  once  being  surprised  by  the  sudden 
appearance  over  the  crest  of  a  hillock  of  about  twenty 
blacks,  all  well  armed  and  presenting  rather  a  formi- 
dable appearance.     The  monjent  they  caught  sight  of 

Yamba  and  myself  they  halted,  whereupon  I  advanced 

264 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   265 

and  called  out  to  them  that  I  was  a  friend,  at  the  same 
time  holding  out  my  passport  stick.  By  the  way,  the 
efficacy  of  this  talisman  varied  according  to  the  tribes. 
Yamba  could  make  neither  head  nor  tail  of  these  people  ; 
they  jabbered  in  a  language  quite  unintelligible  to  either 
of  us.  I  then  reverted  to  the  inevitable  sign  language, 
giving  them  to  understand  that  I  wished  to  sleep  with 
them  a  night  or  two  ;  but  they  still  continued  to  brandish 
their  spears  ominously.  Yamba  presently  v/hispered  in 
my  ear  that  we  had  better  not  trouble  them  any  further, 
as  they  were  evidently  inclined  to  be  pugnacious.  This 
was  a  very  exceptional  rencontre,  because  I  usually 
induced  the  natives  to  sit  down  and  parley  with  me, 
and  then  I  would  produce  my  mysterious  stick.  In  the 
event  of  this  proving  of  little  account,  both  I  and  Bruno 
would  without  a  moment's  hesitation  plunge  into  our 
performance.  It  always  began  with  a  few  somersaults. 
Bruno  needed  no  looking  after.  He  knew  his  busi- 
ness, and  went  through  his  own  repertoire  with  great 
energy  and  excitement.  The  accompanying  barks  were 
probably  involuntary,  but  they  were  a  great  help  in 
astonishing  and  impressing  the  natives. 

Even  in  this  instance  I  was  unwilling  to  retire 
defeated  ;  so  suddenly  pulling  out  one  of  my  little  reed 
whistles  capable  of  producing  two  notes,  I  commenced  a 
violent  jig  to  my  own  "  music."  The  effect  on  the 
scowHng  and  ferocious-looking  blacks  was  quite 
magical.  They  immediately  threw  down  their  spears 
and  laughed  uproariously  at  my  vigorous  antics.  I 
danced  till  I  was  quite  tired,  but  managed  to  wind  up 
the  entertainment  with  a  few  somersaults,  which 
impressed  them  vastly. 

I    had    conquered.      Whpn    I    had    finished    they 


266  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

advanced  and  greeted  me  most  heartily,  and  from  that 
moment  we  were  friends.  I  had  completely  done  away 
with  their  enmity  b}^  my  simple  efforts  to  amuse  them. 
For  the  most  part,  this  was  my  invariable  experience. 
The  natives  were  the  easiest  people  in  the  world  to 
interest  and  amuse,  and  when  once  I  had  succeeded 
in  winning  them  in  this  way,  they  were  our  warmest 
friends.  This  band  of  warriors  took  us  back  to  their 
camping-ground,  some  miles  away,  and  actually  gave  a 
great  feast  in  my  honour  that  evening,  chanting  the 
wonderful  things  they  had  seen  until  far  into  the  night. 
The  place  where  I  met  these  blacks  was  a  broken, 
stony,  and  hilly  country,  which,  however,  abounded 
in  roots  and  snakes — especially  snakes.  My  hosts  had 
evidently  had  a  recent  battue,  or  fire  hunt,  for  they  had 
a  most  extraordinary  stock  of  food.  So  completely  had 
I  won  them  over,  that  I  actually  hung  up  my  bow  and 
arrows  along  with  their  spears  before  retiring  to  rest. 
The  expression  ^'hung  up"  may  seem  curious,  so  I 
hasten  to  explain  that  the  natives  tied  up  their  spears 
in  bunches  and  placed  them  on  the  scrub  bushes. 

Next  morning  I  brought  down  a  few  hawks  on  the 
wing  with  my  bow  and  arrows,  and  then  the  amazement 
of  the  natives  was  quite  comical  to  witness.  Shooting 
arrows  in  a  straight  line  astonished  them  somewhat, 
but  the  more  bombastic  among  them  would  say,  *' Why 
I  can  do  that,"  and  taking  his  woomerah  he  would  hurl 
a  spear  a  long  distance.  Not  one  of  them,  however, 
was  able  to  throw  a  spear  upwaj'ds,  so  I  scored  over 
even  the  most  redoubtable  chiefs.  It  may  be  well 
to  explain,  that  birds  are  always  to  be  found  hovering 
about  a  native  camp ;  they  act  as  scavengers,  and  their 
presence  in  the  sky  is  always  an  indication   that  an 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  267 

encampment  is  somewhere  in  the  vicinity.  These  birds 
are  especially  on  the  spot  when  the  blacks  set  fire  to 
the  bush  and  organise  a  big  battue.  At  such  times  the 
rats  and  lizards  rush  out  into  the  open,  and  the  hawks 
reap  a  fine  harvest. 

My  natives  are  referred  to  as  "  blacks,"  or  "  black- 
fellows,"  but  they  are  not  really  d/ack,  their  hue  being 
rather  a  brown,  ranging  from  a  very  dark  brown,  in- 
deed, to  almost  the  lightness  of  a  Malay.  I  found  the 
coast  tribes  lightest  in  hue,  while  the  inland  natives 
were  very  much  darker.  Here  I  may  mention  that 
after  having  been  on  my  way  south  for  some  months, 
I  began  to  notice  a  total  difference  between  the  natives 
I  met  and  my  own  people  in  the  Cambridge  Gulf 
district.  The  tribes  I  was  now  encountering  daily 
were  inferior  in  physique,  and  had  inferior  war  imple- 
ments; I  do  not  remember  that  they  had  any  shields. 

The  blacks  I  had  whistled  and  jigged  before  were, 
perhaps,  the  ugliest  of  all  the  aborigines  I  had  met, 
which  was  saying  a  very  great  deal.  The  men 
were  very  short,  averaging  little  more  than  five  feet, 
with  low  foreheads  and  hideously  repulsive  features. 
I  noticed,  however,  that  the  animals  they  had  for  food 
seemed  very  much  fatter  than  similar  creatures  farther 
north.  One  thing  I  was  grateful  to  these  people  for 
was  honey,  which  I  urgently  required  for  medicinal 
purposes.  They  were  very  sorry  when  we  left  them, 
and  a  small  band  of  warriors  accompanied  us  on  our 
first  day's  march.  We  were  then  handed  on  from  tribe 
to  tribe,  smoke  signals  being  sent  up  to  inform  the  next 
"  nation  "  that  friendly  strangers  were  coming. 

Nevertheless,  I  gradually  became  uneasy.  We  were 
evidently  getting  into  a  country  where  the  greatest  of 


268   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

our  wonders  could  not  save  us  from  the  hostility  of 
the  natives.  We  presently  encountered  another  tribe, 
who  not  only  at  first  refused  to  accept  our  friendly 
overtures,  but  even  threatened  to  attack  us  before  I 
had  time  to  consider  another  plan.  1  tried  the  effect 
of  my  whistle,  but  even  this  failed  in  its  effect ;  and  to 
my  alarm,  before  I  could  give  them  an  exhibition  of 
my  acrobatic  powers  they  had  hurled  one  or  two  war 
spears,  which  whizzed  by  unpleasantly  close  to  my 
head.  Without  further  ado,  well  knowing  that  vacil- 
lation meant  death,  I  sent  half-c-dozen  arrows  in 
succession  amongst  them,  taking  care,  however,  to  aim 
very  low,  so  as  not  unduly  to  injure  my  opponents. 

The  hostile  blacks  came  to  a  sudden  halt,  as  they 
found  the  mysterious  spears  flying  round  them,  and 
then  watching  my  opportunity,  I  dashed  forward  right 
among  them,  and  turned  over  and  over  in  a  series  of 
rapid  and  breathless  somersaults. 

I  had  conquered  agaiil.  Do  not  blame  the  natives, 
for  with  them  every  stranger  is  an  enemy  until  he 
has  proved  himself  a  friend.  Hence  it  is  that  when 
white  men  suddenly  appear  among  these  natives  they 
run  imminent  risk  of  being  promptly  speared,  unless 
they  can  make  it  quite  clear  that  no  harm  is  intended. 

Bruno  ran  the  same  risk.  Incident  after  incident 
of  this  kind  happened  almost  daily,  and  although 
they  involved  some  peril,  yet  they  came  as  a 
welcome  break  when  life  on  the  march  grew  too 
monotonous.  Deliberate  treachery  was  very  rare 
among  the  natives  I  came  across,  but  it  was  by  no 
means  altogether  absent ;  and,  notwithstanding  all  my 
knowledge,  my  wife  and  I  were  sometimes  in  serious 
danger  of  our  lives. 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  269 

One  day  we  came  upon  a  tribe  as  usual,  and  after 
the  customary  preliminaries  were  gone  through  they 
became  apparently  quite  friendly.  I  was  careful 
never  unduly  to  exhibit  my  steel  tomahawk,  which  I 
always  kept  in  a  kind  of  sheath  or  covering  of 
opossum-skin,  so  that  it  might  not  arouse  envy ;  a 
second  motive  for  this  was  to  prevent  its  chafing 
my  body.  I  never  used  either  stiletto  or  tomahawk 
unless  absolutely  necessary,  reserving  both  for  great 
emergencies.  I  knew  they  could  never  be  replaced, 
so  it  behoved  me  jealously  to  guard  such  precious 
possessions.  I  never  even  used  my  stiletto  at  meal- 
times, nor  even  in  cutting  up  animals  for  food,  lest 
the  blood  should  rust  the  blade  and  eat  it  away. 
Many  times  already  had  it  come  in  useful  at  close 
quarters — notably  in  the  case  of  the  fight  with  the 
alligator  and  the  killing  of  the  cannibal  chief  who 
owned  the  white  girls. 

The  chief  of  the  tribe  I  am  discussing  saw  me 
using  my  tomahawk  one  day,  and  eagerly  asked  me 
to  make  over  the  implement  to  him  as  a  gift.  I 
courteously  told  him  that  I  could  not  do  so.  He 
seemed  somewhat  disappointed  at  my  refusal,  but  did 
not  appear  to  bear  me  any  ill-feeling  in  consequence. 
The  blacks,  by  the  way,  seldom  cut  down  trees  except 
for  spears,  and  the  reason  for  this  is  very  curious. 
They  imagine  the  tree  to  be  a  thing  of  life,  and  when 
they  are  forced  to  cut  one  down,  quite  a  religious 
ceremony  is  held,  and  profuse  apologies  made  to  the 
tree  for  taking  its  life. 

They  never  even  take  a  strip  of  bark  right  round, 
knowing  that  this  will  kill  the  tree ;  they  always 
leave  a  little  bit  of  connecting  bark. 


270  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

As  some  reason  for  the  refusal  of  my  tomahawk 
was  expected,  I  told  the  chief  that  it  was  part  of 
my  life — indeed,  part  of  my  very  being,  which  was 
perfectly  true.  I  also  worked  on  the  chief's  super- 
stitions, assuring  him  earnestly  that  if  I  parted  with 
the  weapon  it  would  so  anger  the  spirits  as  to  bring 
about  a  terrible  curse  in  the  country.  The  tomahawk 
I  declared  was  a  direct  gift  to  me  from  the  Sun  itself, 
so  how  could  I  part  with  it  ?  I  had  thought  of 
offering  it,  curses  and  all,  but  the  risk  of  prompt 
acceptance  was  too  great. 

That  night  Yamba  warned  me  that  trouble  was 
impending.  For  myself  I  never  knew,  and  I  suppose 
she  read  the  signs  among  the  men  and  got  certain 
definite  information  from  the  women.  We  therefore 
slept  some  miles  away  from  the  encampment  in  a 
makeshift  gunyah  built  of  boughs,  in  front  of  which 
the  usual  fire  was  made.  After  we  had  retired  to 
rest,  Yamba  woke  me  and  said  that  she  detected 
strange  noises.  I  immediately  sprang  to  my  feet  and 
looked  all  round  our  little  shelter.  It  was  much  too 
dark  for  me  to  see  anything  distinctly,  but  I  fancied  I 
heard  retreating  footsteps.  Utterly  at  a  loss  to 
account  for  this  strange  occurrence,  and  fearing  that 
some  danger  threatened  us,  Yamba  and  I  covered  in 
the  front  of  the  shelter,  and  then  quietly  retired  into 
the  bush,  where  we  lay  hidden  without  a  fire  until 
morning.  When  we  returned  to  our  shelter  it  was 
broad  daylight,  and,  as  we  half  expected,  we  found 
three  formidable  spears  buried  in  the  sides  of  our  little 
hut.  Three  others  were  stuck  in  the  ground  near  the 
fire,  clearly  proving  that  an  attempt  had  been  made  upon 
our  lives  during  the  night.      On  examining  the  spears 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  271 

we  found  they  most  certainly  belonged  to  the  tribe  we 
had  left  the  previous  day.  The  spear-heads  were  of  a 
different  kind  of  flint  from  anything  I  had  previously 
seen,  being  dark  green  in  colour ;  and  they  were 
extremely  sharp.  The  individuality  of  the  different 
tribes  is  strongly  and  decidedly  marked  in  the  make 
of  their  spears.  Our  treacherous  hosts  had  evidently 
determined  to  obtain  the  coveted  tomahawk  by  force, 
and  when  they  reached  the  spot  where  they  supposed 
we  lay  (they  could  not  see  into  the  interior  from  the 
front),  they  hurled  their  spears  in  the  hope  of  killing 
us,  but  did  not  investigate  the  result,  they  being 
such  arrant  cowards  at  night.  Remember,  they  had 
actually  ventured  at  night  into  the  bush  in  spite  of 
their  inveterate  fear  of  ''  the  spirits." 

The  precaution  adopted  on  this  occasion  was 
always  followed  by  us  when  we  had  any  real  doubt 
about  the  natives ;  that  is  to  say,  we  built  a 
"  dummy "  gunyah  of  boughs,  which  we  were  sup- 
posed to  sleep  in ;  and  we  covered  in  the  front  so  as 
our  possible  assailants  could  not  easily  detect  our 
absence.  We  would  then  creep  away  into  the  bush 
or  hide  behind  a  tree,  and,  of  course,  would  light 
no  fire. 

Many  times  was  that  same  tomahawk  coveted. 
You  see,  the  natives  would  watch  me  cutting  boughs 
with  it,  or  procuring  honey  by  cutting  down  branches 
with  an  ease  that  caused  them  to  despise  their  own 
rude  stone  axes. 

The  case  of  treachery  I  have  just  described  was 
not  an  isolated  one,  but  I  am  bound  to  say  such 
occurrences  were  rare  in  the  interior — although  more 
or   less   frequent   about   the   western   shores   of   the 


272   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Gulf  of  Carpentaria.  At  any  rate,  this  was  my 
experience. 

During  our  journey  from  my  home  to  the  shores 
of  the  Gulf,  I  remember  coming  across  a  flat  country 
from  which  the  natives  had  apparently  disappeared 
altogether.  When  we  did  come  upon  them,  however, 
in  the  high  ground  I  was  probably  guilty  of  some 
little  breach  of  etiquette,  such  as  looking  at  the 
women — (for  many  reasons  I  always  studied  the 
various  types  in  a  .  tribe) — and  Yamba  and  I  were 
often  in  peril  of  our  lives  on  this  account.  As  a 
rule,  however,  safety  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  natives 
are  terribly  afraid  of  darkness,  and  they  believe  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  roam  abroad  in  the  midnight 
hours. 

Month  after  month  we  continued  our  progress  in 
a  southerly  direction,  although,  as  I  have  said 
before,  we  often  turned  north-east  and  even  due  west, 
following  the  valleys  when  stopped  by  the  ranges 
— where,  by  the  way,  we  usually  found  turkeys  in 
great  numbers.  We  had  water-bags  made  out  of 
the  skins  of  kangaroos  and  wallabies,  and  would  camp 
wherever  possible  close  to  a  native  well,  where  we 
knew  food  was  to  be  found  in  plenty. 

At  this  period  I  noticed  that  the  more  easterly 
I  went,  the  more  ranges  I  encountered ;  whilst  the 
somewhat  dreary  and  mostly  waterless  lowland  lay 
to  the  west.  We  would  sometimes  fail  to  obtain 
water  for  a  couple  of  days ;  but  this  remark  does  not 
apply  to  the  mountainous  regions.  Often  the  wells 
were  quite  dry  and  food  painfully  scarce  ;  this  would 
be  in  a  region  of  sand  and  spinifex. 

When    I    beheld   an    oasis    of  palms    and    ti-trees 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  273 

I  would  make  for  it,  knowing  that  if  no  water  existed 
there,  it  could  easily  be  got  by  digging.  The 
physical  conditions  of  the  country  would  change 
suddenly,  and  my  indefatigable  wife  was  frequently 
at  fault  in  her  root-hunting  expeditions.  Fortunately, 
animal  life  was  very  seldom  scarce.  On  the  whole, 
we  were  extremely  fortunate  in  the  matter  of  water, 
— although  the  natives  often  told  me  that  the  low 
wastes  of  sand  and  spinifex  were  frequently  so  dry, 
that  it  was  impossible  even  for  them  to  cross.  What 
astonished  me  greatly  was  that  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion between  an  utter  desert  and,  say,  a  fine  forest 
was  almost  as  sharply  marked  as  if  it  had  been 
drawn  with  a  rule.  A  stretch  of  delightfully  wooded 
country  would  follow  the  dreary  wastes,  and  this  in 
turn  would  give  place  to  fairly  high  mountain  ranges. 

Once,  during  a  temporary  stay  among  one  of  the 
tribes,  the  chief  showed  me  some  very  interesting 
caves  among  the  low  limestone  ranges  that  were 
close  by.  It  was  altogether  a  very  rugged  country. 
Always  on  the  look-out  for  something  to  interest  and 
amuse  me,  and  always  filled  with  a  strange,  vague 
feeling  that  something  might  turn  up  unexpectedly 
which  would  enable  me  to  return  to  civilisation,  I  at 
once  determined  to  explore  these  caves  ;  and  here  I 
had  a  very  strange  and  thrilling  adventure. 

Whilst  roam.ing  among  the  caves  I  came  across 
a  pit  measuring  perhaps  twenty  feet  in  diameter  and 
eight  feet  or  nine  feet  in  depth.  It  had  a  sandy 
bottom  ;  and  as  I  saw  a  curious-looking  depression  in 
one  corner,  I  jumped  down  to  investigate  it,  leaving 
Bruno  barking  at  the  edge  oi  the  pit,  because  I  knew 
I  should  have  some  trouble  in  hoisting  him  up  again 

s 


274  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

if  I  allowed  him  to  accompany  me.  I  carried  a  long 
stick,  much  longer  than  a  waddy  ;  perhaps  it  was  a 
yam-stick — I  cannot  remember.  At  any  rate,  just 
as  I  was  about  to  probe  a  mysterious-looking  hole,  I 
beheld  with  alarm  and  amazement  the  ugly  head  of 
a  large  black  snake  suddenly  thrust  out  at  me  from 
a  dark  mass,  which  I  presently  found  was  the 
decayed  stump  of  a  tree.  I  fell  back  as  far  as 
possible,  and  then  saw  that  the  reptile  had  quite 
uncoiled  itself  from  the  stem,  and  was  coming 
straight  at  me.  I  promptly  dealt  it  a  violent  blow 
on  the  body,  just  below  that  point  where  it  raised  its 
head  from  the  ground.  No  sooner  had  I  done  this 
than  another  dark  and  hissing  head  came  charging  in 
my  direction.  Again  I  struck  at  the  reptile's  body 
and  overpowered  it.  Next  came  a  third,  and  a 
fourth,  and  fifth,  and  then  I  realised  that  the  whole 
of  the  dead  stump  was  simply  one  living  mass  of 
coiled  snakes,  which  were  probably  hibernating.  One 
after  another  they  came  at  me ;  of  course,  had  they 
all  come  at  once,  no  power  on  earth  could  have 
saved  me.  I  wondered  how  long  this  weird  contest 
would  be  kept  up ;  and  again  and  again  between  the 
attacks  I  tried  to  escape,  but  had  scarcely  taken  an 
upward  step  when  another  huge  reptile  was  upon  me. 
I  was  aware  that  Bruno  was  running  backwards 
and  forwards  at  the  edge  of  the  pit  all  this  time, 
barking  frantically  in  a  most  excited  state.  He  knew 
perfectly  well  what  snakes  were,  having  frequently 
been  bitten.  I  owe  my  life  on  this  occasion  solely 
to  the  fact  that  the  snakes  were  in  a  torpid  state, 
and  came  at  me  one  at  a  time  instead  of  altogether. 
It   was   the  cold  season,  about  the  month  of  June  or 


ONE   AFTER    ANOTHER   THEY    CAME 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   277 

July.  It  is  impossible  at  such  moments  to  take  any 
account  of  time,  so  I  cannot  say  how  long  the  battle 
lasted.  At  length,  however,  I  was  able  to  count  the 
slain.  I  did  this  partly  out  of  curiosity  and  partly 
because  I  wanted  to  impress  the  natives — to  boast, 
if  you  prefer  that  phrase.  Modesty,  where  modesty 
is  unknown,  would  have  been  absurd,  if  not  fatal  to 
my  prestige.  Well,  in  all  there  were  sixty-eight  black 
snakes  f  averaging  about  four  feet  six  inches  in  length. 

I  do  not  remember  that  I  was  fatigued  ;  I  think 
my  excitement  was  too  great  for  any  such  feeling  to 
have  made  itself  felt.  When  at  length  I  was  able  to 
get  away,  I  and  Bruno  rushed  off  to  the  native  camp 
a  few  miles  away,  and  brought  back  the  blacks  to  see 
what  I  had  done.  The  spectacle  threw  them  into  a 
state  of  great  amazement,  and  from  that  time  on  I  was 
looked  upon  with  the  greatest  admiration.  The  story 
of  how  I  had  killed  the  snakes  soon  spread  abroad 
among  the  various  tribes  for  miles  round,  and  was 
chanted  by  many  tribes,  the  means  of  inter-communi- 
cation being  the  universal  smoke-signals.  One  impor- 
tant consequence  of  this  adventure  was  that  I  was 
everywhere  received  with  the  very  greatest  respect. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  no  matter  how 
unfriendly  tribes  may  be,  they  always  exchange  news 
by  means  of  smoke-signals.  I  may  also  say  that  at 
corroborees  and  such-like  festivities  a  vast  amount  of 
poetic  boasting  and  exaggeration  is  indulged  in,  each 
*'  hero "  being  required  to  give  practical  demonstra- 
tions of  the  things  he  has  seen,  the  doughty  deeds 
he  has  done,  &c.  He  warms  up  as  he  goes  along, 
and  magnifies  its  importance  in  a  ridiculous  way.  It 
amuses  me  to  this  day  to  recall  my  own  preposterous 


2/8   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

songs  about  how  I  killed  the  two  whales  witli  my 
stiletto,  and  other  droll  pretensions.  But,  ah  !  I  was 
serious  enough  then  ! 

In  the  mountainous  region  where  I  encountered 
the  snakes,  I  also  met  a  native  who  actually  spoke 
English.  He  called  himself  either  Peter  or  Jacky 
Jacky — I  cannot  remember  which  ;  but  in  any  case  it 
was  a  name  given  him  by  pearlers.  He  had  once 
lived  with  some  pearlers  near  the  north-west  coast  of 
Western  Australia — probably  on  the  De  Grey*  River. 
His  story  was  quite  unprecedented  among  the  blacks, 
and  he  gave  me  many  terrible  instances  of  the  perfidy 
shown  by  white  adventurers  towards  the  unfortunate 
natives.  The  precise  locality  where  I  met  this  man 
was  probably  near  Mount  Farewell,  close  to  the 
border-line  of  South  Australia  and  Western  Australia. 
Well,  then,  Jacky  Jacky — to  give  him  the  name  which 
lingers  most  tenaciously  in  my  mind — was  persuaded 
to  join  in  a  pearling  expedition,  together  with  a 
number  of  his  companions.  They  all  accepted  engage- 
ments from  the  whites,  on  the  distinct  understanding 
that  they  were  to  be  away  about  three  moons.  Instead, 
they  were  practically  kidnapped  by  force,  and  treated — 
or  rather  ill-treated — as  slaves  for  several  years. 

First  of  all,  the  poor  creatures  were  taken  to  an 
island  in  the  vicinity  of  North-West  Cape,  off  which 
the  pearling  fleet  lay.  During  the  voyage  to  the 
pearling  grounds  the  water  supply  on  board  ran 
short,  and  so  great  was  the  suffering  among  the 
blacks — they  were  kept  on  the  shortest  of  short 
commons,  as  you  may  suppose — that  they  plotted 
to  steal  a  cask  of  the  precious  fluid  for  their  own 
use.      The   vessel    was   quite    a   small  one,   and   the 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  279 

water  was  kept  in  the  hold.  But  the  two  or  three 
whites  who  formed  the  crew  forcibly  prevented  the 
black- fellows  from  carrying  out  their  plan.  This 
gave  rise  to  much  discontent,  and  eventually  the 
blacks,  in  desperation,  openly  rose  and  mutinied. 
Arming  themselves  with  heavy  pieces  of  firewood 
they  proceeded  to  attack  their  masters,  and  some 
of  them  succeeded  in  getting  at  the  water,  in 
spite  of  the  whites,  by  simply  knocking  the  bungs 
out  of  the  casks.  The  captain  thereupon  went  down 
to  parley  with  them,  but  was  met  by  a  shower  of 
blows  from  the  heavy  sticks  I  have  just  mentioned. 
Half-stunned,  he  dashed  out  of  the  hold,  got  his 
musket,  and  fired  down  among  the  mutineers,  hitting 
one  black-fellow  in  the  throat,  and  killing  him  instantly. 
Far  from  infuriating  the  rest,  as  would  most  certainly 
have  been  the  case  with  any  other  race,  this  course  of 
action  terrified  the  blacks,  and  they  barricaded  them- 
selves down  below.  Eventually  the  whites  again  sought 
them  and  made  peace,  the  blacks  promising  to  con- 
duct themselves  more  obediently  in  the  future.  It  may 
here  be  said  that  the  ship  had  called  specially  at  Jacky 
Jacky's  home  on  the  coast  to  kidnap  the  natives. 

On  arriving  at  the  pearling  settlement,  the  blacks 
found  themselves  among  a  number  of  other  unfortu- 
nate creatures  like  themselves,  and  all  were  compelled 
to  go  out  in  pearling  vessels  just  as  the  exigencies  of 
the  industry  required.  Jacky  Jacky  himself  was  kept 
at  this  work  for  upwards  of  three  years  ;  and  he  told 
me  many  terrible  stories  of  the  white  man's  indescrib- 
able cruelty  and  villainy.  He  and  his  companions 
were  invariably  chained  up  during  the  night  and 
driven  about  like  cattle  in  the  daytime.     Many  of  his 


28o  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

mates  at  the  pearling  settlement  had  been  kidnapped 
from  their  homes  in  a  cruel  and  contemptible  manner, 
and  herded  off  like  sheep  by  men  on  horseback  armed 
with  formidable  weapons. 

Their  sufferings  were  very  great  because,  of  course, 
they  were  totally  unused  to  work  of  any  kind.  The 
enforced  exile  from  home  and  the  dreary  compulsory 
labour  made  the  life  far  worse  than  death  for  these 
primitive  children  of  Nature.  Then,  again,  they  were 
exiled  from  their  wives,  wTio  would,  of  course,  be 
appropriated  in  their  absence  —  another  tormenting 
thought.  They  were  frequently  beaten  with  sticks, 
and  when  they  attempted  to  run  away  they  were 
speared  as  enemies  by  other  tribes ;  whilst,  in  the 
event  of  their  escaping  altogether,  they  would  not 
have  been  recognised  even  when  they  returned  to 
their  own  homes.  One  day  Jaeky  Jacky's  ship  came 
into  a  little  bay  on  the  mainland  for  water,  and  then 
my  enterprising  friend,  watching  his  opportunity, 
struck  inland  for  home  and  liberty,  accompanied  by 
several  other  companions  in  misery.  These  latter 
the  coast  natives  promptly  speared,  but  Jacky  Jacky 
escaped,  thanks  probably  to  his  knowledge  of  the 
white  man's  wiles.  He  'soon  reached  the  more 
friendly  mountain  tribes  in  the  interior,  where  he 
was  received  as  a  man  and  a  brother.  You  see, 
he  had  stolen  a  revolver  from  his  late  masters,  and 
this  mysterious  weapon  created  great  terror  among 
his  new  friends.  Altogether  he  posed  as  quite  a 
great  man,  particularly  when  his  story  became  known. 
He  worked  his  way  from  tribe  to  tribe,  until  at  length 
he  got  to  the  ranges  where  I  met  him — quite  a  vast 
distance  from  the  coast. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  281 

Many  parts  of  the  extensive  country  I  traversed 
on  my  southward  journey,  after  the  death  of  the  girls, 
were  exceedingly  rich  in  minerals,  and  particularly  in 
gold,  both  alluvial  and  in  quartz.  As  I  was  making 
my  way  one  day  through  a  granite  country  along  the 
banks  of  a  creek,  I  beheld  some  reddish  stones,  which 
I  at  once  pounced  upon  and  found  to  be  beautiful 
rubies.  Having  no  means  of  carrying  them,  however, 
and  as  they  were  of  no  value  whatever  to  me,  I 
simply  threw  them  away  again,  and  now  merely 
record  the  fact.  I  also  came  across  large  quantities 
of  alluvial  tin,  but  this,  again,  was  not  of  the  slightest 
use,  any  more  than  it  had  been  when  I  found  it  in 
very  large  quantities  in  the  King  Leopold  Ranges. 
The  test  I  applied  to  see  whether  it  really  was  tin 
was  to  scratch  it  with  my  knife.  Even  when  large 
quantities  of  native  gold  lay  at  my  feet,  I  hardly 
stooped  to  pick  it  up,  save  as  a  matter  of  curiosity. 
Why  should  I  ?  What  use  was  it  to  me  ?  As  I 
have  stated  over  and  over  again  in  public,  I  would 
have  given  all  the  gold  for  a  few  ounces  of  salt,  which 
I  needed  so  sorely.  Afterwards,  however,  I  made 
use  of  the  precious  metal  in  a  very  practical  manner, 
but  of  this  more  hereafter.  At  one  place — probably 
near  the  Warburton  Ranges  in  Western  Australia — 
I  picked  up  an  immense  piece  of  quartz,  which  was 
so  rich  that  it  appeared  to  be  one  mass  of  virgin  gold  ; 
and  when  on  showing  it  to  Yamba  I  told  her  that  in 
my  country  men  were  prepared  to  go  to  any  part  of 
the  world,  and  undergo  many  terrible  hardships  to 
obtain  it,  she  thought  at  first  I  was  joking.  Indeed, 
the  thing  amused  her  ever  after,  as  it  did  the 
rest   of  my   people.      I   might   also   mention   that  up 


282   DE  ROUGEMONTS  ADVENTURES 

in  the  then  little-known  Kimberley  district,  many  of 
the  natives  weighted  their  spears  with  pure  gold.  I 
must  not  omit  to  mention  that  natives  never  poison 
their  spear-heads.  I  only  found  the  nuggets,  big 
and  little,  near  the  creeks  during  and  after  heavy 
rains  ;  and  I  might  mention  that  having  with  some 
difficulty  interested  Yamba  in  the  subject,  she  was 
always  on  the  look-out  for  the  tell-tale  specks  and 
gleams.  In  some  of  the  ranges,  too,  I  found  the 
opal  in  large  and  small  quantities,  but  soon  dis- 
covered that  the  material  was  too  light  and  brittle 
for  spear-heads,  to  which  curious  use  I  essayed  to 
put  this  beautiful  stone.  Talking  about  spear-heads, 
in  the  ranges  where  I  met  Jacky  Jacky  there  was  a 
quarry  of  that  kind  of  stone  which  was  used  for  the 
making  of  war  and  other  implements.  It  was  very 
much  worked,  and  as  you  may  suppose  was  a  valua^ 
able  possession  to  the  tribe  in  whose  territory  it  was 
situated.  The  stone  was  a  kind  of  flint,  extremely 
hard  and  capable  of  being  made  very  sharp,  and  re- 
taining its  edge.  Natives  from  far  and  near  came 
to  barter  for  the  stone  with  shells,  and  ornaments 
which  these  inland  tribes  did  not  possess.  The 
method  of  getting  out  the  stone  was  by  building  fires 
over  it,  and  then  when  it  had  become  red-hot  throw- 
ing large  and  small  quantities  of  water  upon  it  in  an 
amazingly  dexterous  way.  The  stone  would  im- 
mediately be  split  and  riven  exactly  in  the  manner 
required. 

My  very  first  discovery  of  gold  was  made  in  some 
crevices  near  a  big  creek,  which  had  cut  its  way 
through  deep  layers  of  conglomerate  hundreds  of  feet 
thick.      This  country  was  an  elevated  plateau,  inter- 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  283 

sected  by  deeply  cut  creeks,  which  had  left  the  various 
strata  quite  bare,  with  curious  concave  recesses  in 
which  the  natives  took  shelter  during  the  wet  season. 
One  of  the  nuggets  I  picked  up  in  the  creek  I  have 
just  mentioned  weighed  several  pounds,  and  was 
three  or  four  inches  long ;  it  was  rather  more  than  an 
inch  in  thickness.  This  nugget  I  placed  on  a  block 
of  wood  and  beat  out  with  a  stone,  until  1  could 
twist  it  easily  with  my  fingers,  when  I  fashioned  it 
into  a  fillet  as  an  ornament  for  Yamba's  hair.  This 
she  continued  to  wear  for  many  years  afterwards,  but 
the  rude  golden  bracelets  and  anklets  I  also  made  for 
her  she  gave  away  to  the  first  children  we  met. 

In  many  of  the  rocky  districts  the  reefs  were 
evidently  extremely  rich  ;  but  I  must  confess  I  rarely 
troubled  to  explore  them.  In  other  regions  the  gold- 
bearing  quartz  was  actually  a  curse,  our  path  being 
covered  with  sharp  pebbles  of  quartz  and  slate,  which 
made  every  step  forward  a  positive  agony.  Wild 
ranges  adjoined  that  conglomerate  country,  which,  as 
you  have  probably  gathered,  is  extremely  difficult 
to  traverse.  Certainly  it  would  be  impossible  for 
camels. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

A.n  eventful  meeting — Civilisation  at  last — Rage  and  despair — A  white 
man's  tracks — Yamba's  find — Good  Samaritans — Bitter  disap- 
pointment— Bruno  as  guardian — A  heavy  burden — A  strange 
invitation — The  mysterious  monster — "Come,  and  be  our  chief" 
— I  discover  a  half-caste  girl — The  fate  of  Leichhardt — "In  the 
valley  of  the  shadow" — A  sane  white  man — Gibson  is  dying — 
Vain  efforts — Unearthly  voices. 

WHEN  we  had  been  on  the  march  southwards 
about  nine  months  there  came  one  of  the 
most  important  incidents  in  my  Hfe,  and  one  which 
completely  changed  my  plans.  One  day  we  came 
across  a  party  of  about  eight  natives — all  young 
fellows — who  were  on  a  punitive  expedition ;  and  as 
they  were  going  in  our  direction  (they  overtook  us 
going  south),  we  walked  along  with  them  for  the 
sake  of  their  company.  The  country  through  which 
we  were  passing  at  that  time  is  a  dreary,  undulating 
expanse  of  spinifex  desert,  with  a  few  scattered  and 
weird-looking  palms,  a  little  scrub,  and  scarcely  any 
signs  of  animal  life.  The  further  east  we  went,  the 
better  grew  the  country ;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
when  we  went  westward  we  got  farther  and  farther 
into  the  dreary  wastes.  At  the  spot  I  have  in  my 
mind  ranges  loomed  to  the  south — a  sight  which 
cheered  me  considerably,   for  somehow   I    thought   I 

should  soon  strike  civilisation. 

284 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   285 

Had  not  the  blacks  we  were  with  taken  us  to 
some  wells  we  would  have  fared  very  badly  indeed  in 
this  region,  as  no  water  could  be  found  except  by 
digging.  I  noticed  that  the  blacks  looked  for  a  hollow 
depression  marked  by  a  certain  kind  of  palm,  and 
then  dug  a  hole  in  the  gravel  and  sandy  soil  with 
their  hands  and  yam-sticks.  They  usually  came  upon 
water  a  few  feet  down,  but  the  distance  often  varied 
very  considerably. 

We  were  crossing  the  summit  of  a  little  hill,  where 
we  had  rested  for  a  breathing  space,  when,  without 
the  least  warning,  I  suddenly  beheld,  a  few  hundred 
yards  away,  in  the  valley  beneath,  four  white  men  on 
horseback  !  I  think  they  had  a  few  spare  horses  with 
them,  but,  of  course,  all  that  I  saw  were  the  four 
white  men.  I  afterwards  learned  that,  according  to 
our  respective  routes,  we  would  have  crossed  their 
track,  but  they  would  not  have  crossed  ours.  They 
were  going  west.  They  wore  the  regulation  dress 
of  the  Australian — broad  sombrero  hats,  flannel  shirts, 
and  rather  dirty  white  trousers,  with  long  riding- 
boots.  I  remember  they  were  moving  along  at  a 
wretched  pace,  which  showed  that  their  horses  were 
nearly  spent.  Once  again,  notwithstanding  all  previous 
bitter  lessons,  my  uncontrollable  excitement  was  my 
undoing.  *'  Civilisation  at  last !  "  I  screamed  to  my- 
self, and  then,  throwing  discretion  to  the  winds,  I 
gave  the  war-whoop  of  the  blacks  and  rushed  madly 
forward,  yelling  myself  hoarse,  and  supremely  oblivious 
of  the  fantastic  and  savage  appearance  I  must  have 
presented — with  my  long  hair  flowing  wildly  out 
behind,  and  my  skin  practically  indistinguishable  from 
that  of  an  ordinary  black-fellow.      My  companions,  I 


2S6     DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

afterwards  discovered,  swept  after  me  as  in  a  furious 
charge,  /or  they  thought  I  wanted  to  annihilate  the  white 
men  at  sight.  Naturally,  the  spectacle  unnerved  the 
pioneers,  and  they  proceeded  to  repel  the  supposed 
attack  by  firing  a  volley  into  the  midst  of  us.  Their 
horses    were    terrified,    and    reared    and    plunged    in 


H^" 


CIVILISATION    AT   LAST 


a  dangerous  manner,  thereby  greatly  adding  to  the 
excitement  of  that  terrible  moment.  The  roar  of  the 
volley  and  the  whizz  of  the  shots  brought  me  to  my 
senses,  however,  and  although  I  was  not  hit,  I  promptly 
dropped  to  the  ground  amidst  the  long  grass,  as  also 
did  Yamba  and  the  other  blacks.  ,  Like  a  flash   my 


AS  TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  287 

idiotic  blunder  came  home  to  me,  and  then  I  was  ready 
to  dash  out  again  alone  to  explain  ;  but  Yamba  forcibly 
prevented  me  from  exposing  myself  to  what  she  con- 
sidered certain  death. 

The  moment  the  horsemen  saw  us  all  disappear 
in  the  long  grass  they  wheeled  round,  changing 
their  course  a  little  more  to  the  south — they  had 
been  going  west,  so  far  as  I  can  remember — and 
their  caravan  crawled  off  in  a  manner  that  suggested 
that  the  horses  were  pretty  well  done  for.  On  our 
part,  we  at  once  made  for  the  ranges  that  lay  a  little 
to  the  south.  Here  we  parted  with  our  friends  the 
blacks,  who  made  off  in  an  east-south-easterly 
direction. 

The  dominant  feeling  within  me  as  I  saw  the 
white  men  ride  off  was  one  of  uncontrollable  rage 
and  mad  despair.  I  was  apparently  a  pariah,  with 
the  hand  of  every  white  man  —  when  I  met  one — 
against  me.  "  Well,"  I  thought,  **  if  civilisation  is 
not  prepared  to  receive  me,  I  will  wait  until  it 
is."  Disappointment  after  disappointment,  coupled 
with  the  incessant  persuasions  of  Yamba  and  my 
people  generally,  were  gradually  reconciling  me  to 
savage  life  ;  and  slowly  but  relentlessly  the  thought 
crept  into  my  mind  that  /  was  doomed  never  to  reach 
civilisation  again,  and  so  perhaps  it  would  be  better 
for  me  to  resign  myself  to  the  inevitable,  and  stay 
where  I  was.  I  would  turn  back,  I  thought,  with 
intense  bitterness  and  heart-break,  and  make  a  home 
among  the  tribes  in  the  hills,  where  we  would  be  safe 
from  the  white  man  and  his  murderous  weapons. 
And  I  actually  did  turn  back,  accompanied,  of  course, 
by  Yamba.      We  did  not  strike  due  north  again,  as  it 


288   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

was  our  intention  to  find  a  permanent  home  some- 
where among  the  ranges,  at  any  rate  for  the  ensuing 
winter.  It  was  out  of  the  question  to  camp  where 
we  were,  because  it  was  much  too  cold  ;  and  besides 
Yamba  had  much  difficulty  in  finding  roots. 

Several  days  later,  as  we  were  plodding  steadily 
along,  away  from  the  ranges  that  I  have  spoken  of 
as  lying  to  the  south,  Yamba,  whose  eyes  were  usually 
everywhere,  suddenly  gave  a  cry  and  stood  still, 
pointing  to  some  peculiar  and  unmistakable  footprints 
in  the  sandy  ground.  These,  she  confidently  assured 
me,  were  those  of  a  white  man  who  had  lost  his 
reason,  and  was  wandering  aimlessly  about  that  fear- 
ful country.  It  was,  of  course,  easy  for  her  to  know 
the  white  man's  tracks  when  she  saw  them,  but  I  was 
curious  how  she  could  be  certain  that  the  wanderer 
had  lost  his  reason.  She  pointed  out  to  me  that,  in 
the  first  place,  the  tracks  had  been  made  by  some 
one  wearing  boots,  and  as  the  footprints  straggled 
about  in  a  most  erratic  manner,  it  was  clearly  evident 
that  the  wearer  could  not  be  sane. 

Even  at  this  time,  be  it  remembered,  I  was  burning 
with  rage  against  the  whites,  and  so  I  decided  to 
follow  the  tracks  and  find  the  individual  who  was 
responsible  for  them.  But  do  not  be  under  any 
misapprehension.  My  intentions  were  not  philan- 
thropic, but  revengeful.  I  had  become  a  black-fellow 
myself  now,  and  was  consumed  with  a  black-fellow's 
murderous  passion.  At  one  time  I  thought  I  would 
follow  the  whole  party,  and  kill  them  in  the  darkness 
with  my  stiletto  when  opportunity  offered. 

The  new  tracks  we  had  come  upon  told  me 
plainly  that  the  party  had  separated,  and  were  there- 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  289 

fore  now  in  my  power.  I  say  these  things  because 
I  do  not  want  any  one  to  suppose  I  followed  up 
the  tracks  of  the  lost  man  with  the  intention  of 
rendering  him  any  assistance. 

For  nearly  two  days  Yamba  and  I  followed  the 
tracks,  which  went  in  curious  circles  always  trending 
to  the  left.  At  length  we  began  to  come  upon 
various  articles  that  had  apparently  been  thrown 
away  by  the  straggler.  First  of  all,  we  found  part 
of  a  letter  that  was  addressed  to  some  one  (I  think) 
in  Adelaide  ;  but  of  this  I  would  not  be  absolutely 
certain.  What  I  do  remember  was  that  the  envelope 
bore  the  postmark  of  Ti  Tree  Gully,  S.A. 

The  writer  of  that  letter  was  evidently  a  woman, 
who,  so  far  as  I  can  remember,  wrote  congratulating 
her  correspondent  upon  the  fact  that  he  was  join- 
ing an  expedition  which  was  about  to  traverse  the 
entire  continent.  I  fancy  she  said  she  was  glad 
of  this  for  his  own  sake,  for  it  would  no  doubt 
mean  much  to  him.  She  wished  him  all  kinds 
of  glory  and  prosperity,  and  wound  up  by  assuring 
him  that  none  would  be  better  pleased  on  his  return 
than  she. 

The  country  through  which  these  tracks  led  us 
was  for  the  most  part  a  mere  dry,  sandy  waste, 
covered  with  the  formidable  spinifex  or  porcupine 
grass.      Yamba  walked  in  front  peering  at  the  tracks. 

Presently  she  gave  a  little  cry,  and  when  she 
turned  to  me  I  saw  that  she  had  in  her  hand  the 
sombrero  hat  of  an  Australian  pioneer.  A  little 
farther  on  we  found  a  shirt,  and  then  a  pair  of 
trousers.  We  next  came  upon  a  belt  and  a  pair 
of  dilapidated  boots. 


290   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

At  length,  on  reaching  the  crest  of  a  sandy  hillock, 
we  suddenly  beheld  the  form  of  a  naked  white  man 
lying  face  downwards  in  the  sand  below  us.  As 
you  may  suppose,  we  simply  swooped  down  upon 
him  ;  but  on  reaching  him  my  first  impression  was 
that  he  was  dead!  His  face  was  slightly  turned  to 
the  right,  his  arms  outstretched,  and  his  fingers 
dug  convulsively  in  the  sand.  1  am  amused  now 
when  I  remember  how  great  was  our  emotion  on 
approaching  this  unfortunate.  My  first  thought  in 
turning  the  man  over  on  to  his  back,  and  ascertain- 
ing that  at  last  he  breathed,  was  one  of  great  joy 
and  thankfulness. 

"Thank  God,"  I  said  to  myself,  "I  have  at  last 
found  a  white  companion — one  who  will  put  me  in 
touch  once  more  with  the  great  world  outside."  The 
burning  rage  that  consumed  me  (you  know  my 
object  in  following  the  tracks)  died  away  in  pity 
as  I  thought  of  the  terrible  privations  and  sufferings 
this  poor  fellow  must  have  undergone  before  being 
reduced  to  this  state.  My  desire  for  revenge  was 
forgotten,  and  my  only  thought  now  was  to  nurse 
back  to  health  the  unconscious  man. 

First  of  all  I  moistened  his  mouth  with  the  water 
which  Yamba  always  carried  with  her  in  a  skin  bag, 
and  then  I  rubbed  him  vigorously,  hoping  to  restore 
animation.  I  soon  exhausted  the  contents  of  the 
bag,  however,  and  immediately  Yamba  volunteered 
to  go  off"  and  replenish  it.  She  was  absent  an  hour 
or  more,  I  think,  during  which  time  I  persisted  in 
my  massage  treatment — although  so  far  I  saw  no 
signs  of  returning  consciousness  on  the  part  of  my 
patient. 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  291 

When  Yamba  returned  with  the  water,  I  tried  to 
make  the  prostrate  man  swallow  some  of  it,  and  I 
even  smeared  him  with  the  blood  of  an  opossum 
which  my  thoughtful  helpmate  had  brought  back 
with  her.  But  for  a  long  time  all  my  efforts  were 
in  vain,  and  then,  dragging  him  to  the  foot  of  a  grass- 
tree,  I  propped  him  up  slightly  against  it,  wetted  his 
shirt  with  water  and  wound  it  round  his  throat. 
Meanwhile  Yamba  threw  water  on  him  and  rubbed 
him  vigorously. 

At  last  he  uttered  a  sound — half  groan,  half  sigh 
(it  thrilled  me  through  and  through)  ;  and  I  noticed 
that  he  was  able  to  swallow  a  few  drops  of  water. 
The  gloom  of  night  was  now  descending  on  that 
strange  wilderness  of  sand  and  spinifex,  so  we  pre- 
pared to  stay  there  with  our  helpless  charge  until 
morning.  Yamba  and  I  took  it  in  turns  to  watch 
over  him  and  keep  his  mouth  moistened.  By  morn- 
ing he  had  so  far  revived  that  he  opened  his  eyes 
and  looked  at  me.  How  eagerly  had  I  anticipated 
that  look,  and  how  bitter  was  my  disappointment 
when  I  found  that  it  was  a  mere  vacant  stare  im 
which  was  no  kind  of  recognition  !  Ever  hopeful, 
however,  I  attributed  the  vacant  look  to  the  terrible 
nature  of  his  sufferings.  I  was  burning  to  ply 
him  with  all  manner  of  questions  as  to  who  he  was, 
where  he  had  come  from,  and  what  news  he  had  of 
the  outside  world  ;  but  I  restrained  myself  by  a  great 
effort,  and  merely  persevered  in  my  endeavours  to 
restore  him  to  complete  animation.  When  the  morn- 
ing was  pretty  well  advanced  the  man  was  able  to 
sit  up ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  he  was  even, 
able   to   accompany    us    to   a   water-hole,    where  we 


292   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

encamped,  and  stayed  until  he  had  practically  re- 
covered— or,  at  any  rate,  was  able  to  get  about. 

But,  you  may  be  asking,  all  this  time,  did  the 
man  himself  say  nothing  ?  Indeed,  he  said  much, 
and  I  hung  upon  every  syllable  that  fell  from  his 
lips,  but,  to  my  indescribable  chagrin,  it  was  a  mere 
voluble  jargon  of  statements,  which  simply  baffled  and 
puzzled  me  and  caused  me  pain.  Our  charge  would 
stare  at  us  stolidly,  and  then  remark,  in  a  vulgar 
Cockney  voice,  that  he  was  quite  su7^e  we  were  going 
the  wrong  way.  By  this  time,  I  should  mention,  we 
had  re-clothed  him  in  his  trousers  and  shirt,  for  he  had 
obviously  suffered  terribly  from  the  burning  sun. 

Many  days  passed  away  before  I  would  admit  to 
mj^self  that  this  unhappy  creature  was  a  hopeless 
imbecile.  I  was  never  absent  from  his  side  day  or 
night,  hoping  and  waiting  for  the  first  sane  remark. 
Soon,  however,  the  bitter  truth  was  borne  in  upon 
us  that,  instead  of  having  found  salvation  and  comfort 
in  the  society  of  a  white  man,  we  were  merely  saddled 
with  a  ghastly  encumbrance,  and  were  far  worse  off 
than  before. 

We  now  set  off  in  the  direction  of  our  old  tracks, 
but  were  not  able  to  travel  very  fast  on  account  of 
the  still  feeble  condition  of  the  white  stranger.  Poor 
creature  !  I  pitied  him  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart. 
It  seemed  so  terrible  for  a  man  to  lapse  into  a  state 
of  imbecility  after  having  survived  the  dreadful  hard- 
ships and  adventures  that  had  befallen  him.  I  tried 
over  and  over  again  to  elicit  sensible  replies  to  my 
questions  as  to  where  he  came  from  ;  but  he  simply 
gibbered  and  babbled  like  a  happy  baby.  I  coaxed  ; 
I  threatened ;  I  persuaded ;  but  it  was  all  in  vain.      I 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  293 

soon  found  he  was  a  regular  millstone  round  my  neck 
— particularly  when  we  were  on  the  "  walk-about." 
He  would  suddenly  take  it  into  his  head  to  sit  down 
for  hours  at  a  stretch,  and  nothing  would  induce  him 
to  move  until  he  did  so  of  his  own  accord. 

Curiously  enough,  Bruno  became  very  greatly 
attached  to  him,  and  was  his  constant  companion. 
Of  this  I  was  extremely  glad,  because  it  relieved  me 
of  much  anxiety.  You  will  understand  what  I  mean 
when  I  tell  you  that,  in  spite  of  all  our  endeavours, 
our  mysterious  companion  would  go  off  by  himself 
away  from  our  track  ;  and  at  such  times  were  it  not 
for  Bruno — whom  he  w^ould  follow  anywhere — we 
would  often  have  had  much  trouble  in  bringing  him 
back  again.  Or  he  might  have  been  speared  before 
a  strange  tribe  could  have  discovered  his  '^  sacred " 
(idiotic)  condition. 

At  length  we  reached  a  large  lagoon,  on  the  shores 
of  which  we  stayed  for  about  two  years.  This  lagoon 
formed  part  of  a  big  river  at  flood -time^  but  the 
connecting  stretches  of  water  had  long  since  dried 
up  for  many  miles  both  above  and  below  it.  The 
question  may  be  asked,  Why  did  I  settle  down  here  ? 
The  answer  is,  that  our  white  companion  had  become 
simply  an  intolerable  burden.  He  suffered  from  the 
most  exhausting  attacks  of  dysentery,  and  was  quite 
helpless.  It  was,  of  course,  my  intention  to  have 
continued  my  march  northward  to  my  old  home  in 
the  Cambridge  Gulf  district,  because  by  this  time  I 
had  quite  made  up  my  mind  that,  by  living  there 
quietly,  I  stood  a  better  chance  of  escape  to  civilisa- 
tion by  means  of  some  vessel  than  I  did  by  attempt- 
ing to  traverse  the  entire  continent.      This  latter  idea 


294      E>E  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

was  now  rendered  impossible,  on  account  of  the  poor, 
helpless  creature  I  had  with  me.  Indeed,  so  great  an 
anxiety  was  he  to  me  and  Yamba,  that  we  decided  we 
could  go  nowhere,  either  north  or  south,  until  he  had 
become  more  robust  in  health.  Needless  to  say,  I 
never  intrusted  him  with  a  weapon. 

I  had  found  a  sheath-knife  belonging  to  him,  but  I 
afterwards  gave  it  away  to  a  friendly  chief,  who  was 
immensely  proud  of  it. 

In  making  for  the  shores  of  the  big  lagoon  we  had 
to  traverse  some  extremely  difficult  country.  In  the 
first  place,  we  encountered  a  series  of  very  broken 
ridges,  which  in  parts  proved  so  hard  to  travel  over 
that  I  almost  gave  up  in  despair.  At  times  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  carry  on  my  back  the  poor, 
feeble  creature  who,  I  felt,  was  now  intrusted  to  my 
charge  and  keeping.  I  remember  that  native  chiefs 
frequently  suggested  that  I  should  leave  him,  but  I 
never  listened  to  this  advice  for  a  moment.  Perhaps  I 
was  not  altogether  disinterested,  because  already  my 
demented  companion  was  looked  upon  as  a  kind  of 
minor  deity  by  the  natives.  I  may  here  remark  that  I 
only  knew  two  idiots  during  the  whole  of  my  sojourn. 
One  of  these  had  fallen  from  a  tree  through  a  branch 
breaking,  and  he  was  actually  maintained  at  the 
expense  of  the  tribe,  revered  by  all,  if  not  actually 
worshipped. 

But  the  journey  I  was  just  describing  was  a  fearful 
trial.  Sometimes  we  had  to  traverse  a  wilderness  of 
rocks  which  stood  straight  up  and  projected  at  sharp 
angles,  presenting  at  a  distance  the  appearance  of  a 
series  of  stony  terraces  which  were  all  but  impassable. 
For    a    long   time   our   charge   wore    both   shirt   and 


AS  TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  295 

trousers,  but  eventually  we  had  to  discard  the  latter 
— or  perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say,  that  the 
garment  was  literally  torn  to  shreds  by  the  spinifex. 
At  one  time  I  had  it  in  my  mind  to  make  him  go 
naked  like  myself,  but  on  consideration  I  thought  it 
advisable  to  allow  him  to  retain  his  shirt,  at  any  rate 
for  a  time,  as  his  skin  was  not  so  inured  to  the  burn- 
ing sun  as  my  own. 

We  had  to  provide  him  with  food,  which  he 
accepted,  of  course,  without  gratitude.  Then  Yamba 
had  always  to  build  him  a  shelter  wherever  we 
camped,  so  that  far  from  being  an  invaluable  assist- 
ance and  a  companion  he  was  a  burden — so  great 
that,  in  moments  of  depression,  I  regretted  not  having 
left  him  to  die.  As  it  was,  he  would  often  have 
gone  to  his  death  in  the  great  deserts  were  it  not  for 
the  ever-vigilant  Bruno.  Still,  I  always  thought  that 
some  day  I  would  be  able  to  take  the  man  back  to 
civilisation,  and  there  find  out  who  he  was  and 
whence  he  had  come.  And  I  hoped  that  people 
would  think  I  had  been  kind  to  him.  At  first  I 
thought  the  unfortunate  man  was  suffering  from 
sunstroke,  and  that  in  course  of  time  he  would  regain 
his  reason.  I  knew  I  could  do  very  little  towards 
his  recovery  except  by  feeding  him  well.  Fortunately 
the  natives  never  called  upon  him  to  demonstrate 
before  them  the  extraordinary  powers  which  I  attrib- 
uted to  him.  Lideed  his  strange  gestures,  antics, 
and  babblings  were  sufficient  in  themselves  to 
convince  the  blacks  that  he  was  a  creature  to  be 
reverenced.  The  remarkable  thing  about  him  was 
that  he  never  seemed  to  take  notice  of  any  one, 
whether  it  were  myself,  Yamba,  or  a  native  chief.     As 


296   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

a  rule,  his  glance  would  "  go  past  me,"  so  to  speak, 
and  he  was  for  ever  wandering  aimlessly  about, 
chattering  and  gesticulating. 

We  placed  no  restrictions  upon  him,  and  supplied 
all  his  wants,  giving  him  Bruno  as  a  guide  and  pro- 
tector. I  must  say  that  Yamba  did  not  like  the 
stranger,  but  for  my  sake  she  was  wonderfully  patient 
with  him. 

It  was  whilst  living  on  the  shores  of  this  lagoon 
that  I  received  a  very  extraordinary  commission  from 
a  neighbouring  tribe.  Not  long  after  my  arrival 
I  heard  a  curious  legend,  to  the  effect  that  away 
on  the  other  side  of  the  lagoon  there  was  an  ''  evil 
spirit  "  infesting  the  waters,  which  terrified  the  women 
when  they  went  down  to  fill  their  skins.  Well, 
naturally  enough,  the  fame  of  the  white  man  and  his 
doings  soon  got  abroad  in  that  countr}',  and  I  was 
one  day  invited  by  the  tribe  in  question  to  go  and  rid 
them  of  the  evil  spirit.  Accordingly,  accompanied  by 
Yamba,  and  leaving  Bruno  to  look  after  our  helpless 
companion,  we  set  off  in  response  to  the  invitation, 
and  in  a  few  days  reached  the  camp  of  the  blacks  who 
had  sent  for  me.  The  lagoon  was  here  surrounded  by 
a  finely-wooded  country,  slightly  mountainous.  Perhaps 
I  ought  to  have  stated  that  I  had  already  gleaned 
from  the  mail-men,  or  runners,  who  had  been  sent 
with  the  message,  that  the  waters  of  the  lagoon  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  camp  had  long  been  disturbed  by  some 
huge  fish  or  monster,  whose  vagaries  were  a  constant 
source  of  terror.  The  dreaded  creature  would  come 
quite  close  inshore,  and  then  endeavour  to  "  spear " 
the  women  with  what  was  described  as  a  long  weapon 
carried  in  its  mouth.      This,  then,  was  the  evil  spirit 


AS   TOLD   BY    HIMSELF  297 

of  the  lagoon,  and  I  confess  it  puzzled  me  greatly.  I 
thought  it  probable  that  it  was  merely  a  large  fish 
which  had  descended  in  a  rain-cloud  among  countless 
millions  of  others  of  smaller  species.  I  looked  upon 
the  commission,  however,  as  a  good  opportunity  for 
displaying  my  powers  and  impressing  the  natives  in 
that  country — I  always  had  the  utmost  confidence 
in  myself.  Before  setting  out  I  had  spent  some  little 
time  in  completing  my  preparations  for  the  capture  of 
the  strange  monster. 

The  very  afternoon  I  arrived  I  went  down  to  the 
shores  of  the  lagoon  with  all  the  natives,  and  had  not 
long  to  wait  before  I  beheld  what  was  apparently  a 
huge  fish  careering  wildly  and  erratically  hither  and 
thither  in  the  water.  On  seeing  it  the  natives 
appeared  tremendously  excited,  and  they  danced  and 
yelled,  hoping  thereby  to  drive  the  creature  away. 
My  first  move  was  in  the  nature  of  an  experiment — 
merely  with  the  object  of  getting  a  better  view  of  the 
monster.  I  endeavoured  to  angle  for  it  with  a  hook 
made  out  of  a  large  piece  of  sharpened  bone.  I  then 
produced  large  nets  made  out  of  strips  of  green  hide 
and  stringy-bark  rope.  Placing  these  on  the  shores 
of  the  lagoon,  I  directed  Yamba  to  build  a  little  bark 
canoe  just  big  enough  to  hold  her  and  me. 

At  length  we  embarjced  and  paddled  out  a  few 
hundred  yards,  when  we  threw  the  net  overboard. 
It  had  previously  been  weighted,  and  now  floated  so 
that  it  promptly  expanded  to  its  utmost  capacity.  No 
sooner  had  we  done  this  than  the  invisible  monster 
charged  down  upon  us,  making  a  tremendous  com- 
motion in  the  water.  Neither  Yamba'  nor  I  waited 
for  the  coming  impact,  but  threw  ourselves  overboard 


298   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

just  as  the  creature's  white  sawlike  weapon  showed 
itself  close  to  the  surface  only  a  few  yards  away. 
We  heard  a  crash,  and  then,  looking  backward  as 
we  swam,  saw  that  the  long  snout  of  the  fish  had 
actually  pierced  both  sides  of  the  canoe,  whilst  his 
body  was  evidently  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  the 
net.  So  desperate  had  been  the  charge  that  our 
little  craft  was  now  actually  a  serious  encumbrance  to 
the  monster.  It  struggled  madly  to  free  itself,  leap- 
ing almost  clear  of  the  water  and  lashing  the  placid 
lagoon  into  a  perfect  maelstrom. 

Several  times  the  canoe  was  lifted  high  out  of  the 
water ;  and  then  the  fish  would  try  to  drag  it  under- 
neath, but  was  prevented  by  its  great  buoyancy.  In 
the  meantime  Yamba  and  I  swam  safely  ashore,  and 
watched  the  struggles  of  the  "evil  spirit"  from  the 
shore,  among  a  crowd  of  frantic  natives. 

We  waited  until  the  efforts  of  the  fish  grew  feebler, 
and  then  put  off  in  another  bark  canoe  (the  celerity 
with  which  Yamba  made  one  was  something  amazing), 
when  I  easily  despatched  the  now  weakened  creature 
with  my  tomahawk.  I  might  here  mention  that  this 
was  actually  the  first  time  that  these  inland  savages 
had  seen  a  canoe  or  boat  of  any  description,  so  that 
naturally  the  two  I  launched  occasioned  endless 
amazement. 

Afterwards,  by  the  way,  I  tried  to  describe  to 
them  what  the  sea  was  like,  but  had  to  give  it  up, 
because  it  only  confused  them,  and  was  quite  beyond 
their  comprehension.  When  we  dragged  the  monster 
ashore,  with  its  elongated  snout  still  embedded  in  the 
little  canoe,  I  saw  at  a  glance  that  the  long-dreaded 
evil  spirit  of  the  lagoon   was  a  huge  sawfish,   fully 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  299 

fourteen  feet  long,  its  formidable  saw  alone  measuring 
nearly  five  feet.  This  interesting  weapon  I  claimed 
as  a  trophy,  and  when  I  got  back  to  where  Bruno 
and  his  human  charge  were,  I  exhibited  it  to  crowds 
of  admiring  blacks,  who  had  long  heard  of  the  evil 
spirit.  The  great  fish  itself  was  cooked  and  eaten  at 
one  of  the  biggest  corroborees  1  had  ever  seen.  The 
blacks  had  no  theory  of  their  own  (save  the  super- 
stitious one),  as  to  how  it  got  into  the  lagoon ;  and 
the  only  supposition  I  can  offer  is,  that  it  must  have 
been  brought  thither,  when  very  small  and  young, 
either  by  a  rain-cloud  or  at  some  unusually  big  flood 
time. 

So  delighted  were  the  blacks  at  the  service  I  had 
done  them,  that  they  paid  me  the  greatest  compliment 
in  their  power  by  offering  me  a  chieftainship,  and 
inviting  me  to  stay  with  them  for  ever.  I  refused 
the  flattering  offer,  however,  as  I  was  quite  bent  on 
getting  back  to  Cambridge  Gulf. 

On  returning  to  my  friends  on  the  other  side  of 
the  lagoon  I  learned  for  the  first  time  that  there  was 
a  half-caste  girl  living  among  them  ;  and  subsequent 
inquiries  went  to  prove  that  her  father  was  a  white 
man  who  had  penetrated  into  these  regions  and  lived 
for  some  little  time  at  least  among  the  blacks — much 
as  I  myself  was  doing.  My  interest  in  the  matter 
was  first  of  all  roused  by  the  accidental  discovery  of 
a  cairn  five  feet  or  six  feet  high,  made  of  loose  flat 
stones.  My  experience  was  such  by  this  time  that 
I  saw  at  a  glance  this  cairn  was  not  the  work  of 
a  native.  Drawings  and  figures,  and  a  variety  of 
curious  characters,  were  faintly  discernible  on  some  of 
the  stones,  but  were  not  distinct  enough  to  be  legible. 


300   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

On  one,  however,  I  distinctly  traced  the  initials  ''L.  L.," 
which  had  withstood  the  ravages  of  time  because 
the  stone  containing  them  was  in  a  protected  place. 


AN    ACCIDENTAL    DISCOVERY 


Naturally  the  existence  of  this  structure  set  me 
inquiring  among  the  older  natives  as  to  whether  they 
ever  remembered  seeing  a  white  man  before ;  and 
then  I   learned  that  perhaps  twenty  years  previousl}'' 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  301 

a  man  like  myself  had  made  his  appearance  in  those 
regions,  and  had  died  a  few  months  afterwards, 
before  the  wife  who,  according  to  custom,  was  allotted 
to  him  had  given  birth  to  the  half-caste  baby  girl, 
who  was  now  a  woman  before  me.  They  never  knew 
the  white  stranger's  name,  nor  where  he  had  come 
from.  The  girl,  by  the  v/ay,  was  by  no  means  good- 
looking,  and  her  skin  was  decidedly  more  black  than 
white  ;  I  could  tell  by  her  hand,  however,  that  she 
was  a  half-caste. 

On  the  strength  of  our  supposed  affinity,  she  was 
offered  to  me  as  a  wife,  and  I  accepted  her,  more  as 
a  help  for  Yamba  than  anything  else  ;  she  was  called 
Luigi.  Yamba,  by  the  way,  was  anxious  that  I 
should  possess  at  least  half-a-dozen  wives,  partly 
because  this  circumstance  would  be  more  in  keeping 
with  my  rank  ;  but  I  did  not  fall  in  with  the  idea. 
I  had  quite  enough  to  do  already  to  maintain  my 
authority  among  the  tribe  at  large,  and  did  not  care 
to  have  to  rule  in  addition  half-a-dozen  women  in 
my  own  establishment.  This  tribe  always  lingers 
in  my  memory,  on  account  of  the  half-caste  girl, 
whom  I  now  believe  to  have  been  the  daughter  of 
Ludwig  Leichhardt,  the  lost  Australian  explorer. 
Mr.  Giles  says  :  '*  Ludwig  Leichhardt  was  a  surgeon 
and  botanist,  who  successfully  conducted  an  expedi- 
tion from  Moreton  Bay  to  Port  Essington,  on  the 
northern  coast.  A  military  and  penal  settlement  had 
been  established  at  Port  Essington  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  New  South  Wales,  to  which  colony  the 
whole  territory  then  belonged.  At  this  settlement — 
the  only  point  of  relief  after  eighteen  months'  travel 
— Leichhardt  and  his  exhausted  party  arrived. 


302   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

*'  Of  Leichhardt's  sad  fate,  in  the  interior  of 
Australia,  no  certain  tidings  have  ever  been  heard. 
I,  who  have  wandered  into  and  returned  alive  from 
the  curious  regions  he  attempted  and  died  to  explore, 
have  unfortunately  never  come  across  a  single  record, 
nor  any  remains  or  traces  of  the  party." 

Leichhardt  started  on  his  last  sad  venture  with  a 
party  of  eight,  including  one  or  two  native  black- 
boys.  They  had-  with  them  about  twenty  head  of 
bullocks  broken  in  to  carry  pack  loads.  "  My  first 
and  second  expeditions,"  says  Giles,  **were  conducted 
entirely  with  horses,  but  in  all  subsequent  journeys 
I  was  accompanied  by  camels."  His  object,  like  that 
of  Leichhardt,  was  to  force  his  way  across  the 
thousand  miles  of  country  that  lay  untrodden  and 
unknown  between  the  Australian  telegraph  line  and 
the  settlements  upon  the  Swan  River.  And  Giles 
remarks  that  the  exploration  of  looo  miles  in 
Australia  is  equal  to  at  least  io,ooo  miles  on  any 
other  part  of  the  earth's  surface — always  excepting 
the  Poles. 

I  continued  residing  on  the  shores  of  the  lagoon 
in  the  hope  that  my  patient  would  eventually  get 
better,  when  I  proposed  continuing  my  journey  north. 
I  was  still  quite  unable  to  understand  his  babblings, 
although  he  was  for  ever  mentioning  the  names  of 
persons  and  places  unknown  to  me  ;  and  he  constantly 
spoke  about  some  exploring  party.  He  never  asked 
me  questions,  nor  did  he  get  into  serious  trouble  with 
the  natives,  being  privileged.  He  never  developed 
any  dangerous  vices,  but  was  simply  childlike  and 
imbecile. 

Gradually  I  had  noticed  that,  instead  of  becoming 


AS   TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  303 

stronger,  he  was  fading  away.  He  was  constantly 
troubled  with  a  most  distressing  complaint,  and  in 
addition  to  this  he  would  be  seized  with  fits  of 
depression,  when  he  would  remain  in  his  hut  for 
days  at  a  time  without  venturing  out.  I  always 
knew  what  was  the  matter  with  him  when  he  was 
not  to  be  seen.  Sometimes  I  would  go  in  to  try  and 
cheer  him  up,  but  usually  it  was  a  hopeless  effort  on 
my  part. 

Of  course  he  had  a  wife  given  him,  and  this  young 
person  seemed  to  consider  him  quite  an  ordinary 
specimen  of  the  white  man.  Indeed,  she  was  vastly 
flattered,  rather  than  otherwise,  by  the  attentions 
lavished  upon  her  husband  by  her  people.  One 
reason  for  this  treatment  was  that  she  was  considered 
a  privileged  person  to  be  related  in  any  way  to  one 
whom  the  natives  regarded  as  almost  a  demi-god.  She 
looked  after  him  too,  and  kept  his  hut  as  clean  as 
possible.  One  morning  something  happened.  The 
girl  came  running  for  me  to  go  to  her  hut,  and  there 
lay  the  mysterious  stranger  apparently  stretched  out 
for  dead.  I  soon  realised  that  he  was  in  a  fit  of 
some  kind. 

I  now  approach  the  momentous  time  when  this 
unfortunate  man  recovered  his  senses.  When  he 
regained  consciousness  after  the  fit  Yamba  and  I  were 
with  him,  and  so  was  his  wife.  I  had  not  seen  him 
for  some  days,  and  was  much  shocked  at  the  change 
that  had  taken  place.  He  was  ghastly  pale  and  very 
much  emaciated.  I  knew  that  death  was  at  hand. 
Just  as  he  regained  consciousness — I  can  see  the 
picture  now ;  yes,  we  were  all  around  his  fragrant 
couch  of  eucalyptus  leaves,  waiting  for  him  to  open 


304   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

his  eyes — he  gazed  at  me  in  a  way  that  thrilled  me 
strangely,  and  /  knew  I  was  looking  at  a  sane  white 
man.  His  first  questions  were  ''  Where  am  I  ?  Who 
are  you  ?  "  Eager  and  trembling  I  knelt  down  beside 
him  and  told  him  the  long  and  strange  story  of  how 
I  had  found  him,  and  how  he  had  now  been  living 
with  me  nearly  two  years.  I  pointed  out  to  him  our 
faithful  Bruno,  who  had  often  taken  him  for  long 
walks  and  brought  him  back  safely,  and  who  had  so 
frequently  driven  away  from  him  deadly  snakes,  and 
warned  him  when  it  was  time  to  turn  back.  I  told 
him  he  was  in  the  centre  of  Australia  ;  and  then  I 
told  in  brief  my  own  extraordinary  story.  I  sent 
Yamba  to  our  shelter  for  the  letter  I  had  found  in 
his  tracks,  and  read  it  aloud  to  him.  He  never 
told  me  who  the  writer  of  it  was.  He  listened 
to  all  I  had  to  tell  him  with  an  expression  of 
amazement,  which  soon  gave  place  to  one  of  weari- 
ness— the  weariness  of  utter  weakness.  He  asked 
me  to  carry  him  outside  into  the  sun,  and  I  did  so, 
afterwards  squatting  down  beside  him  and  opening 
up  another  conversation.  He  then  told  me  his  name 
was  Gibson,  and  that  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Giles 
Expedition  of  1874.  From  that  moment  I  never  left 
him  night  or  day.  He  told  me  much  about  that 
expedition  which  I  can  never  reveal,  for  I  do  not 
know  w^hether  he  was  lying  or  raving.  Poor,  vulgar, 
Cockney  Gibson  !  He  seemed  to  know  full  well  that 
he  was  dying,  and  the  thought  seemed  to  please  him 
rather  than  otherwise.  He  appeared  to  me  to  be  too 
tired,  too  weary  to  live — that  was  the  predominant 
symptom. 

I  introduced  Yamba  to  him,  and  we  did  everything 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  305 

we  possibly  could  to  cheer  him,  but  he  gradually  sank 
lower  and  lower.  I  would  say,  "Cheer  up,  Gibson. 
Why,  when  you  are  able  to  walk  we  will  make  tracks 
straightway  for  civilisation.  I  am  sure  you  know  the 
way,  for  now  you  are  as  right  as  I  am."  But 
nothing  interested  the  dying  man.  Shortly  before 
the  end  his  eyes  assumed  a  strained  look,  and  I 
could  see  he  was  rapidly  going.  The  thought  of  his 
approaching  end  was  to  me  a  relief;  it  would  be 
untrue  if  I  were  to  say  otherwise.  For  weeks  past 
I  had  seen  that  the  man  could  not  live,  and  consider- 
ing that  every  day  brought  its  battle  for  life,  you  will 
readily  understand  that  this  poor  helpless  creature 
was  a  terrible  burden  to  me.  He  had  such  a  tender 
skin  that  at  all  times  I  was  obliged  to  keep  him 
clothed.  For  some  little  time  his  old  shirt  and 
trousers  did  duty,  but  at  length  I  was  compelled  to 
make  him  a  suit  of  skins.  Of  course,  we  had  no 
soap  with  which  to  wash  his  garments,  but  we  used 
to  clean  them  after  a  fashion  by  dumping  them  down 
into  a  kind  of  greasy  mud  and  then  trampling  on 
them,  afterwards  rinsing  them  out  in  water.  More- 
over, his  feet  were  so  tender  that  I  always  had  to 
keep  him  shod  with  skin  sandals. 

His  deathbed  was  a  dramatic  scene — especially 
under  the  circumstances.  Poor  Gibson!  To  think 
that  he  should  have  escaped  death  after  those  fearful 
waterless  days  and  nights  in  the  desert,  to  live  for 
two  years  with  a  white  protector,  and  yet  then  die  of 
a  wasting  and  distressing  disease  ! 

He  spent  the  whole  day  in  the  open  air,  for  he 
was  very  much  better  when  in  the  sun.  At  night 
I   carried   him    back    into   his   hut,   and    laid   him   in 

u 


306   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

the  hammock  which  I  had  long  ago  slung  for  him, 
Yamba  knew  he  was  dying  even  before  I  did,  but 
she  could  do  nothing. 

We  tried  the  effect  of  the  curious  herb  called 
"pitchori,"  but  it  did  not  revive  him.  '' Pitchori," 
by  the  way,  is  a  kind  of  leaf  which  the  natives  chew 
in  moments  of  depression ;  it  has  an  exhilarating 
effect  upon  them. 

On  the  last  day  I  once  more  made  up  a  bed  of 
eucalyptus  leaves  and  rugs  on  the  floor  of  Gibson's 
hut.  Surrounding  him  at  the  last  were  his  wife — 
a  very  good  and  faithful  girl — Yamba,  myself,  and 
Bruno — who,  by  the  way,  knew  perfectly  well  that 
his  friend  was  dying.  He  kept  licking  poor  Gibson's 
hand  and  chest,  and  then  finding  no  response  would 
nestle  up  close  to  him  for  half-an-hour  at  a  time. 
Then  the  affectionate  creature  would  retire  outside 
and  set  up  a  series  of  low,  melancholy  howls,  only 
to  run  in  again  with  hope  renewed. 

Poor  Gibson  !  The  women-folk  were  particularly 
attached  to  him  because  he  never  went  out  with  the 
men,  or  with  me,  on  my  various  excursions,  but 
remained  behind  in  their  charge.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, he  would  follow  at  our  heels  as  faithfully  and 
instinctively  as  Bruno  himself.  For  the  past  two 
years  Bruno  and  Gibson  had  been  inseparable,  sleeping 
together  at  night,  and  never  parting  for  a  moment  the 
whole  day  long.  Indeed,  I  am  sure  Bruno  became 
more  attached  to  Gibson  than  he  was  to  me.  And 
so  Gibson  did  not,  as  I  at  one  time  feared  he 
would,  pass  away  into  the  Great  Beyond,  carrying 
with  him  the  secret  of  his  identity.  Looking  at 
him   as   he   lay   back    among   the   eucalyptus  leaves, 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  307 

pale  and  emaciated,  I    knew   the   end   was  now  very 
near. 

I  knelt  beside  him  holding  his  hand,  and  at  length, 
with  a  great  effort,  he  turned  towards  me  and  said 
feebly,  ^*  Can  you  hear  anything  ?  "  I  listened  in- 
tently, and  at  last  was  compelled  to  reply  that  I  did 
not.  "  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  hear  some  one  talking. 
I  think  the  voices  of  my  friends  are  calling  me." 
I  fancied  that  the  poor  fellow  was  wandering  in  his 
mind  again,  but  still  his  eyes  did  not  seem  to  have 
that  vacant  gaze  I  had  previously  noticed  in  them. 
He  was  looking  steadily  at  me,  and  seemed  to 
divine  my  thoughts,  for  he  smiled  sadly  and  said, 
"  No,  I  know  what  I  am  saying.  I  can  hear  them 
singing,  and  they  are  calling  me  away.  They  have 
come  for  me  at  last ! "  His  thin  face  brightened  up 
with  a  slow,  sad  smile,  which  soon  faded  away,  and 
then,  giving  my  hand  a  slight  pressure,  he  whispered 
almost  in  my  ear,  as  I  bent  over  him,  "  Good-bye, 
comrade,  I'm  off.  You  will  come  too,  some  day." 
A  slight  shiver,  and  Gibson  passed  peacefully 
away. 


CHAPTER   XV 

Lost  in  the  desert — Gibson's  dying  advice — Giles  meets  Gibson — A 
fountain  in  the  desert — A  terrible  fix — Giles  regains  his  camp — 
Gibson's  effects — Mysterious  tracks — A  treasured  possession — A 
perfect  paradise — Grape  vines  a  failure — A  trained  cockatoo— An 
extraordinary  festival — My  theory  of  the  "ghosts." 

A  FTER  the  funeral  his  wife  followed  out  the  usual 
i\  native  conventions.  She  covered  herself  with 
pipeclay  for  about  one  month.  She  also  mourned 
and  howled  for  the  prescribed  three  days,  and  gashed 
her  head  with  stone  knives,  until  the  blood  poured 
down  her  face.  Gibson's  body  was  not  buried  in  the 
earth,  but  embalmed  with  clay  and  leaves,  and  laid 
on  a  rock-shelf  in  a  cave. 

•  The  general  belief  was  that  Gibson  had  merely  gone 

back  to  the  Spirit  Land  from  whence  he  had  come,  and 

that,  as  he  was  a  great  and  good  man,  he  would  return 

to  earth  in  the  form  of  a  bird — perhaps  an  ibis,  which 

was  very  high  indeed.     I  must  say  I  never  attached 

very  much  importance  to  what  he  said,  even  in  his 

sane  moments,  because  he  was  obviously  a  man  of  low 

intelligence  and  no  culture.     If  I  remember  rightly,  he 

told  me  that  the  expedition  to  which  he  was  attached 

left  Adelaide  with  the  object  of  going  overland  to  Fre- 

mantle.     It  was  thoroughly  well  equipped,  and  for  a 

long  time  everything  went  well  with  the  party.     One 

308 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   309 

day,  whilst  some  of  them  were  off  exploring  on  their 
own  account,  he  lost  himself. 

He  rather  thought  that  the  sun  must  have  affected 
his  brain  even  then,  because  he  didn't  try  to  find  his 
companions  that  night,  but  went  to  sleep  quite  con- 
tentedly under  a  tree.  He  realised  the  horror  of  his 
position  keenly  enough  the  next  morning,  however, 
and  rode  mile  after  mile  without  halting  for  food  or 
water,  in  the  hope  of  quickly  regaining  his  friends 
at  the  chief  camp.  But  night  stole  down  upon  him 
once  more,  and  he  was  still  a  lonely  wanderer,  half 
dehrious  with  thirst ;  the  supply  he  had  carried  with 
him  had  long  since  given  out. 

Next  morning,  when  he  roused  himself,  he  found 
that  his  horse  had  wandered  away  and  got  lost.  After 
this  he  had  only  a  vague  recollection  of  what  happened. 
Prompted  by  some  strange,  unaccountable  impulse,  he 
set  out  on  a  hopeless  search  for  water,  and  went  walk- 
ing on  and  on  until  all  recollection  faded  away,  and  he 
remembered  no  more.  How  long  he  had  been  lost 
when  I  found  him  he  could  not  say,  because  he  knew 
absolutely  nothing  whatever  about  his  rescue.  So  far 
as  I  remember,  he  was  a  typical  specimen  of  the  Aus- 
tralian pioneer — a  man  of  fine  physique,  with  a  full 
beard  and  a  frank,  but  unintelligent,  countenance.  He 
was  perhaps  five  feet  nine  inches  in  height,  and  about 
thirty  years  of  age.  When  I  told  him  the  story  of  my 
adventures  he  was  full  of  earnest  sympathy  for  me, 
and  told  me  that  if  ever  I  intended  leaving  those 
regions  for  civilisation  again,  my  best  plan  would  be 
to  steer  more  south-east,  as  it  was  in  that  direction 
that  Adelaide  lay. 

He  also   informed   me    that    the   great    trans-Con- 


3IO  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 


tinental  telegraph  wire  was  being  constructed  from 
north  to  south.  This  he  advised  me  to  strike  and 
follow  to  civilisation. 

I  may  be  permitted  a  little  digression  here  to  give 
a  few  extracts  from  Giles's  book,  ''Australia  Twice 
Traversed "  (Sampson  Low  &  Company),  for  this 
contains  the  version  of  the  leader  of  the  expedition 
himself  as  to  the  circumstances  under  which  Gibson 

was  lost.  In  all,  it  seems, 
Giles  made  five  exploring 
expeditions  into  and  through 
Central  South  Australia  and 
Western  Australia  from  1 8/2 
to  1876.  Speaking  of  his 
second  expedition,  Mr.  Giles 
says:  *'I  had  informed  my 
friend,  Baron  Von  Mueller, 
by  wire  from  the  Charlotte 
Waters  Telegraph  station,  of 
the  failure  and  break-up  of 
my  first  expedition,  and  he 
set  to  work  and  obtained  new 
funds  for  me  to  continue  my 
labours.  I  reached  Adelaide 
late  in  January  1873,  and  got  my  party  together. 
We  left  early  in  March  of  1873,  and  journeyed  leisurely 
up-country  to  Beltana,  then  past  the  Finnis  Springs 
to  the  Gregory.  We  then  journeyed  up  to  the  Peake, 
where  we  were  welcomed  by  Messrs.  Bagot  at  the 
Cattle  Station,  and  Mr.  Blood  of  the  Telegraph  Depart- 
ment. Here  we  fixed  up  all  our  packs,  sold  Bagot 
the  waggon,  and  bought  horses  and  other  things.  We 
now  had  twenty  pack-horses  and  four  riding-horses." 


MR.    ERNEST   GILES 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF 


311 


We  next  come  to  the  introduction  of  Gibson. 
"  Here  a  short  young  man  accosted  me,  and  asked 
me  if  I  didn't  remember  him.  He  said  he  was  '  Alf.' 
I  thought  I  knew  his  face,  but  I  thought  it  was  at 
the  Peake  that  I  had  seen  him  ;  but  he  said,  ^  Oh, 
no !  Don't  you  remember  Alf,  with  Bagot's  sheep 
at  the  north-west  bend  of  the  Murray  ?      My  name's 


with 


you. 


Alf  Gibson,  and  I  want  to  go  out 
said,  '  Well,  can  you  shoe  ? 
Can  you  ride  ?  Can  you 
starve  ?  Can  you  go  with- 
out water  ?  And  how  would 
you  like  to  be  speared  by 
the  blacks  ?  He  said  he 
could  do  everything  I  had 
mentioned,  and  he  wasn't 
afraid  of  the  blacks.  He 
was  not  a  man  I  would  have 
picked  out  of  a  mob,  but 
men  were  scarce,  and  he 
seemed  so  anxious  to  come, 
so  I  agreed  to  take  him. 

"Thus,  the  expedition  con- 
sisted    of    four     persons  — 

myself  (Ernest  Giles),  Mr.  William  Henry  Tietkins, 
Alf  Gibson,  and  James  Andrews ;  with  twenty-four 
horses  and  two  little  dogs.  On  Monday,  4th  August, 
we  finally  left  the  encampment." 

Now  here  is  the  passage  in  which  Mr.  Giles  de- 
scribes his  dramatic  parting  with  Gibson.  It  will 
be  found  in  the  chapter  marked  '*  20th  April  to  21st 
May  1874":  ''Gibson  and  I  departed  for  the  West. 
I  rode  the  '  Fair  Maid  of  Perth.'      I  gave  Gibson  the 


MR.    W.    H.  TIETKINS 


312   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

big  ambling  horse,  '  Badger/  and  we  packed  the  big 
cob  with  a  pair  of  water-bags  that  contained  twenty 
gallons.  As  we  rode  away,  I  was  telling  Gibson 
about  various  exploring  expeditions  and  their  fate, 
and  he  said,  *  How  is  it  that,  in  all  these  exploring 
expeditions,  a  lot  of  people  go  and  die  ?  '  He  said, 
'  I  shouldn't  like  to  die  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
anyhow.' 

"  We  presently  had  a  meal  of  smoked  horse.  It 
was  late  when  we  encamped,  and  the  horses  were 
much  in  want  of  water, — especially  the  big  cob,  who 
kept  coming  up  to  the  camp  all  night  and  trying  to 
get  at  our  water-bags.  We  had  one  small  water- 
bag  hung  in  a  tree. 

*4  didn't  think  of  that  until  my  mare  came  straight 
up  to  it  and  took  it  in  her  teeth,  forcing  out  the  cork, 
and  sending  the  water  up,  which  we  were  both  dying 
to  drink,  in  a  beautiful  jet.  Gibson  was  now  very 
sorry  he  had  exchanged  *  Badger '  for  the  cob,  as  he 
found  the  latter  very  dull  and  heavy  to  get  along. 
There  had  been  a  hot  wind  from  the  north  all  day, 
and  the  following  morning  (the  23  rd  of  April),  there 
was  a  most  strange  dampness  in  the  air,  and  I  had 
a  vague  feeling,  such  as  must  have  been  felt  by 
augurs  and  seers  of  old,  who  trembled  as  they  told 
events  to  come  ;  /or  this  was  the  last  day  on  which  I 
ever  saw  Gibson, 

'^As  Gibson  came  along  after  me,  he  called  out 
that  his  horse  was  going  to  die.  The  hills  to  the 
west  were  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles  away,  and  I 
had  to  give  up  trying  to  reach  them.  How  I  longed 
for  a  camel !  Gibson's  horse  was  now  so  bad  as  to 
place   both  of  us    in  a  great   dilemma.      We  turned 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  313 

back  in  our  tracks,  when  the  cob  refused  to  carry  his 
rider  any  farther,  and  tried  to  lie  down.  We  drove 
him  another  mile  on  foot,  and  down  he  fell  to  die. 
My  mare,  the  '  Fair  Maid  of  Perth/  was  only  too 
willing  to  return,  but  she  had  now  to  carry  Gibson's 
saddle  and  things,  and  away  we  went,  walking  and 
riding  in  turns  of  one  half-hour  each. 

"  When  we  got  back  to  about  thirty  miles  from 
a  place  which  I  had  named  *  The  Kegs,'  I  shouted  to 
Gibson,  who  was  riding,  to  stop  until  I  walked  up  to 
him.  By  this  time  we  had  hardly  a  pint  of  water 
left  between  us. 

"  We  here  finished  the  supply,  and  I  then  said,  as 
I  could  not  speak  before,  '  Look  here,  Gibson,  you 
see  we  are  in  a  m.ost  terrible  fix,  with  only  one  horse. 
Only  one  can  ride,  and  one  must  remain  behind. 
I  shall  remain  ;  and  now  listen  to  me.  If  the  mare 
does  not  get  water  soon,  she  will  die  ;  therefore,  ride 
right  on  ;  get  to  the  Kegs,  if  possible,  to-night,  and 
give  her  water.  Now  that  the  cob  is  dead,  there'll 
be  all  the  more  water  for  her.  Early  to-morrow  you 
will  sight  the  Rawlinson,  at  twenty-five  miles  from 
the  Kegs.  Stick  to  the  tracks  and  never  leave  them. 
Leave  as  much  water  in  one  keg  for  me  as  you  can 
afford,  after  watering  the  mare  and  filling  up  your 
own  bags ;  and,  remember,  I  depend  upon  you  to 
bring  me  relief.' 

"  Gibson  said  if  he  had  a  compass  he  thought  he 
could  go  better  by  night.  I  knew  he  didn't  under- 
stand anything  about  compasses,  as  I  had  often  tried 
to  explain  them  to  him.  The  one  I  had  was  a 
Gregory's  Patent,  of  a  totally  different  construction 
from  ordinary  instruments  of  the  kind,  and  I  was  loth 


314  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

to  part  with  it,  as  it  was  the  only  one  I  had. 
However,  as  he  was  so  anxious  for  it,  I  gave  it  to 
him,  and  away  he  went.  I  sent  one  final  shout 
after  him  to  stick  to  the  tracks,  and  he  said,  'All 
right ! '  and  the  mare  carried  him  out  of  sight  almost 
instantly. 

^*  Gibson  had  left  me  with  a  little  over  two  gallons 
of  water,  which  I  could  have  drunk  in  half-an-hour. 
All  the  food  I  had  was  eleven  sticks  of  dirty,  sandy, 
smoked  horse,  averaging  about  an  ounce  and  a  half 
each. 

"  On  the  first  of  May,  as  I  afterwards  found  out, 
at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  staggered  into  the 
camp,  and  awoke  Mr.  Tietkins  at  daylight.  He  glared 
at  me  as  if  I  had  been  one  risen  from  the  dead.  I 
asked  him  if  he  had  seen  Gibson.  It  was  nine  days 
since  I  last  saw  him.  The  next  thing  was  to  find 
Gibson's  remains.  It  was  the  6th  of  May  when  we 
got  back  to  where  he  had  left  the  right  line.  As 
long  as  he  had  remained  on  the  other  horses'  tracks 
it  was  practicable  enough  to  follow  him,  but  the 
wretched  man  had  left  them  and  gone  away  in  a  far 
more  southerly  direction,  having  the  most  difficult 
sand-hills  to  cross  at  right  angles.  We  found  he  had 
burnt  a  patch  of  spinifex  where  he  had  left  the  other 
horses'  tracks. 

"  Whether  he  had  made  any  mistake  in  steering 
by  the  compass  or  not  it  is  impossible  to  say ;  but 
instead  of  going  east,  as  he  should  have  done,  he 
actually  went  south,  or  very  near  it. 

"  I  was  sorry  to  think  that  the  unfortunate  man's 
last  sensible  moments  must  have  been  embittered  by 
the  thought  that,  as  he  had  lost  himself  in  the  capacity 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  315 

of  messenger  for  my  relief,  I,  too,  must  necessarily 
fall  a  victim  to  his  mishap. 

"  I  called  this  terrible  region,  lying  between  the 
Rawlinson  Range  and  the  next  permanent  water  that 
may  eventually  be  found  to  the  north,  '  Gibson's 
Desert,' — after  this  first  white  victim  to  its  horrors. 

'^  In  looking  over  Gibson's  few  effects,  Mr.  Tietkins 
and  I  found  an  old  pocket-book,  a  drinking-song,  and 
a  certificate  of  his  marriage.  He  had  never  told  us 
he  was  married." 

And  now  to  resume  my  own  narrative.  You  will 
remember  that  I  had  settled  down  for  a  considerable 
time  on  the  shores  of  the  lagoon,  where  I  had  made 
everything  around  me  as  comfortable  as  possible. 
Yamba  had  no  difficulty  whatever  in  keeping  us  well 
supplied  with  roots  and  vegetables  ;  and  as  kangaroos, 
opossums,  snakes,  and  rats  abounded,  we  had  an  ample 
supply  of  meat,  and  the  lagoon  could  always  be 
relied  upon  to  provide  us  with  excellent  fish.  The 
country  itself  was  beautiful  in  the  extreme,  with  stately 
mountains,  broad,  fertile  valleys,  extensive  forests, 
• — and,  above  all,  plenty  of  water.  The  general  mode 
of  living  among  the  natives  was  much  the  same  as 
that  prevailing  among  the  blacks  in  my  own  home  at 
Cambridge  Gulf, — although  these  latter  were  a  vastly 
superior  race  in  point  of  physique,  war  weapons,  and 
general  intelligence.  The  people  I  now  found  myself 
among  were  of  somewhat  small  stature,  with  very  low 
foreheads,  protruding  chins,  high  cheek-bones,  and 
large  mouths.  Their  most  noteworthy  characteristic 
was  their  extreme  childishness,  which  was  especially 
displayed  on  those  occasions  when  I  gave  an  acrobatic 
performance.      My  skill  with  the  bow  and  arrow  was, 


3i6   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

as  usual,  a  never-ending  source  of  astonishment.  I 
was,  in  fact,  credited  with  such  remarkable  powers 
that  all  my  ingenuity  had  sometimes  to  be  brought 
into  play  to  accomplish,  or  to  pretend  to  accomplish, 
the  things  expected  of  me.  I  knew  that  I  must  never 
fail  in  anything  I  undertook. 

In  the  interior  the  natives  never  seemed  to  grow 
very  plump,  but  had  a  more  or  less  spare,  not  to  say 
emaciated,  appearance  compared  with  the  tribes  near 
the  coast.  For  one  thing,  food  is  not  so  easily  ob- 
tainable, nor  is  it  so  nourishing.  Moreover,  the  natives 
had  to  go  very  long  distances  to  procure  it. 

Besides  the  low,  receding  forehead  and  protruding 
chin  I  have  already  hinted  at  as  characteristic  of  the 
inland  tribes,  I  also  noticed  that  these  people  had 
abnormally  large  feet.  Also,  the  beards  of  the  men 
were  not  nearly  so  full  or  luxuriant  as  those  of  the 
blacks  at  Cambridge  Gulf.  The  average  height  of  the 
lagoon  tribe  was  little  more  than  five  feet.  For 
myself,  I  am  about  five  feet  seven  and  a  half  inches 
in  height,  and  therefore  I  stalked  about  among  them 
like  a  giant. 

Now  that  Gibson  was  dead  I  decided  to  move  my 
home  farther  north,  and  eventually  settled  down  with 
my  family  (two  children — a  boy  and  a  girl — had 
been  born  to  me  during  my  residence  on  the  shores 
of  the  lagoon)  in  a  beautiful  mountainous  and  tropical 
region  200  or  300  miles  to  the  north.  It  was  my 
intention  only  to  have  made  a  temporary  stay  here, 
but  other  ties  came,  and  my  little  ones  were  by  no 
means  strong  enough  to  undertake  any  such  formi- 
dable journey  as  I  had  in  contemplation.  I  also  made 
the  fatal  mistake  of  trying  to  bring  my  offspring  up 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  317 

differently  from  the  other  savage  children.  But  I  must 
relate  here  an  incident  that  happened  on  our  journey 
north.  Yamba  came  to  me  one  day  positively  quiver- 
ing with  excitement  and  terror,  and  said  she  had  found 
some  strange  tracks,  apparently  of  some  enormous 
beast — a  monster  so  fearful  as  to  be  quite  beyond 
her  knowledge. 

She  took  me  to  the  spot  and  pointed  out  the 
mysterious  tracks,  which  I  saw  at  once  were  those 
of  camels.  I  do  not  know  why  I  decided  to  follow 
them,  because  they  must  have  been  some  months 
old.  Probably,  I  reflected,  I  might  be  able  to  pick 
up  something  on  the  tracks  which  would  be  of  use 
to  me.  At  any  rate,  we  did  follow  the  tracks  for 
several  days — perhaps  a  fortnight — and  found  on 
the  way  many  old  meat-tins,  which  afterwards  came 
in  useful  as  water  vessels.  One  day,  however,  I 
pounced  upon  an  illustrated  newspaper — a  copy  of 
the  Sydney  Town  and  Country  Journal,  bearing  some 
date,  I  think  in  1875  or  1876.  It  was  a  complete 
copy  with  the  outer  cover.  I  remember  it  contained 
some  pictures  of  horse-racing — I  believe  at  Paramatta  ; 
but  the  ^^  Long  Lost  Relative  "  column  interested  me 
most,  for  the  very  moment  I  found  the  paper  I  sat 
down  in  the  bush  and  began  to  read  this  part  with 
great  eagerness.  I  could  read  English  fairly  well  by 
this  time,  and  as  Yamba  was  also  tolerably  familiar 
with  the  language,  I  read  the  paper  aloud  to  her.  I 
cannot  say  she  altogether  understood  what  she  heard, 
but  she  saw  that  I  was  intensely  interested  and  de- 
lighted, and  so  she  was  quite  content  to  stay  there 
and  listen.  You  will  observe  that  in  all  cases,  the 
very  fact  that  /  was  pleased  was  enough  for  Yamba, 


3i8  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

who  never  once  wavered  in  her  fidehty  and  affection. 
Altogether  we  spent  some  weeks  following  up  these 
tracks,  but,  of  course,  never  came  up  with  the  caravan 
of  camels,  which  must  have  been  some  months  ahead 
of  us.  Yamba  at  length  appeared  to  be  a  good  deal 
wearied  at  my  persistency  in  following  up  the  tracks 
in  this  way  ;  but  after  all,  was  it  not  merely  killing 
time  ? — a.  mild  sort  of  sensation  which  served  to 
break  the  eternal  monotony  that  sometimes  threatened 
to  crush  me. 

How  I  treasured  that  soiled  copy  of  the  Town  and 
Country — as  it  is  familiarly  called  in  Sydney  !  I  read 
and  re-read  it,  and  then  read  it  all  over  again  until  I 
think  I  could  have  repeated  every  line  of  it  by  heart, 
even  to  the  advertisements.  Among  the  latter,  by 
the  way,  was  one  inserted  apparently  by  an  anxious 
mother  seeking  information  concerning  a  long-lost 
son  ;  and  this  pathetic  paragraph  set  me  wondering 
about  my  own  mother.  "  Well,"  I  thought,  '^  she  at 
least  has  no  need  to  advertise,  and  I  have  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  she  must  by  this  time  be 
quite  reconciled  to  my  loss,  and  have  given  me  up 
as  dead  long  ago."  Strangely  enough,  this  thought 
quite  reconciled  me  to  my  exile.  In  fact,  I  thanked 
Providence  that  my  disappearance  had  been  so  com- 
plete and  so  prolonged  as  to  leave  not  the  slightest 
cause  for  doubt  or  hope  on  the  part  of  any  of  my 
relatives.  Had  I  for  a  moment  imagined  that  my 
mother  was  still  cherishing  hopes  of  seeing  me  again 
some  day,  and  that  she  was  undergoing  agonies  of 
mental  suspense  and  worry  on  my  behalf,  I  think  I 
would  have  risked  everything  to  reach  her.  But  I 
knew  quite  well  that  she  must  have  heard  of  the  loss 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  319 

of  the  Veielland,  and  long  ago  resigned  herself -to  the 
certainty  of  my  death.  I  can  never  hope  to  describe 
the  curious  delight  with  which  I  perused  my  precious 
newspaper.  I  showed  the  pictures  in  it  to  my  chil- 
dren and  the  natives,  and  they  were  more  than 
delighted, — especially  with  the  pictures  of  horses  in 
the  race  at  Paramatta.  In  the  course  of  time  the 
sheets  of  paper  began  to  get  torn,  and  then  I  made  a 
pretty  durable  cover  out  of  kangaroo  hide.  Thus  the 
whole  of  my  library  consisted  of  my  Anglo-French 
Testament,  and  the  copy  of  the  Town  and  Country 
Journal. 

But  I  have  purposely  kept  until  the  end  the  most 
important  thing  in  connection  with  this  strangely- 
found  periodical.  The  very  first  eager  and  feverish 
reading  gave  me  an  extraordinary  shock,  which  actu- 
ally threatened  my  reason  !  In  a  prominent  place  in 
the  Journal  I  came  across  the  following  passage  :  ^*  The 
Deputies  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  have  refused  to  vote  in 
the  German  Reichstag." 

Now,  knowing  nothing  whatever  of  the  sanguinary 
war  of  1870,  or  of  the  alterations  in  the  map  of 
Europe  which  it  entailed,  this  passage  filled  me  with 
startled  amazement.  I  read  it  over  and  over  again, 
getting  more  bewildered  each  time.  '*  The  Deputies 
of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  have  refused  to  vote  in  the 
German  Reichstag  !  "  "  But — good  heavens  !  "  I 
almost  screamed  to  myself,  ''  what  were  the  Alsace 
and  Lorraine  Deputies  doing  in  the  German  Parlia- 
ment at  all  ?  "  I  turned  the  matter  over  and  over  in 
my  mind,  and  at  last,  finding  that  I  was  getting 
worked  up  into  a  state  of  dangerous  excitement,  I 
threw    the    paper    from    me    and   walked    away.       I 


320  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

thought  over  the  matter  again,  and  so  utterly  incom- 
prehensible did  it  appear  to  me  that  I  thought  I  must 
be  mistaken — that  my  eyes  must  have  deceived  me. 
Accordingly  I  ran  back  and  picked  the  paper  up  a 
second  time,  and  there,  sure  enough,  was  the  same 
passage.  In  vain  did  I  seek  for  any  sane  explana- 
tion, and  at  last  I  somehow  got  it  into  my  head  that 
the  appearance  of  the  printed  characters  must  be 
due  to  a  kind  of  mental  obliquity,  and  that  I  must  be 
rapidly  going  mad  !  Even  Yamba  could  not  sympa- 
thise with  me,  because  the  matter  was  one  which  I 
never  could  have  made  her  understand.  I  tried  to 
put  this  strange  puzzle  out  of  my  head,  but  again  and 
again  the  accursed  and  torturing  passage  would  ring 
in  my  ears  until  I  nearly  went  crazy.  But  I  presently 
put  the  thing  firmly  from  me,  and  resolved  to  think 
no  more  about  it. 

It  is  not  an  exaggeration  to  describe  my  mountain 
home  in  the  centre  of  the  continent  as  a  perfect  para- 
dise. The  grasses  and  ferns  there  grew  to  a  prodigious 
height,  and  there  were  magnificent  forests  of  white 
gum  and  eucalyptus.  Down  in  the  valley  I  built  a 
spacious  house — the  largest  the  natives  had  ever 
seen.  It  was  perhaps  twenty  feet  long,  sixteen  feet 
to  eighteen  feet  wide,  and  about  ten  feet  high.  The 
interior  was  decorated  with  ferns,  war  implements, 
the  skins  of  various  animals,  and  last — but  by  no 
means  least — the  '^ sword"  of  the  great  sawfish  I 
had  killed  in  the  haunted  lagoon.  This  house  con- 
tained no  fireplace,  because  all  the  cooking  was  done 
in  the  open  air.  The  walls  were  built  of  rough  logs, 
the  crevices  being  filled  in  with  earth  taken  from 
ant-hills.      I   have  just  said  that   /  built  the  house. 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  321 

This  is,  perhaps,  not  strictly  correct.  It  was  Yamba 
and  the  other  women-folk  who  actually  carried  out 
the  work,  under  my  supervision.  Here  it  is  neces- 
sary to  explain  that  I  did  not  dare  to  do  much 
manual  labour,  because  it  would  have  been  con- 
sidered undignified  on  my  part.  I  really  did  not 
want  the  house  ;  but,  strangely  enough,  I  felt  much 
more  comfortable  when  it  was  built  and  furnished, 
because,  after  all,  it  was  a  source  of  infinite  satis- 
faction to  me  to  feel  that  I  had  a  home  I  could 
call  my  own.  I  had  grown  very  weary  of  living 
like  an  animal  in  the  bush,  and  lying  down  to  sleep 
at  night  on  the  bare  ground.  It  was  this  same  con- 
sideration of  "  home  "  that  induced  me  to  build  a  little 
hut  for  poor  Gibson. 

The  floor  of  my  house  was  two  or  three  feet  above 
the  ground  in  order  to  escape  the  ravages  of  the  rats. 
There  was  only  one  store}^,  of  course,  and  the  whole 
was  divided  into  two  rooms — one  as  a  kind  of  sitting- 
room  and  the  other  as  a  bedroom.  The  former  I  fitted 
out  with  home-made  tables  and  chairs  (I  had  become 
pretty  expert  from  my  experience  with  the  girls) ;  and 
each  day  fresh  eucalyptus  leaves  were  strewed  about, 
partly  for  cleanliness,  and  partly  becausp  the  odour 
kept  away  the  mosquitoes.  I  also  built  another  house 
about  two  days'  tramp  up  the  mountains,  and  to  this 
we  usually  resorted  in  the  very  hot  weather. 

Now  here  I  have  a  curious  confession  to  make. 
As  the  months  glided  into  years,  and  I  reviewed 
the  whole  of  my  strange  life  since  the  days  when  I 
went  pearling  with  Jensen,  the  thought  began  gradu- 
ally to  steal  into  my  mind,  '^Why  not  wait  until 
civilisation    comes  to  you — as   it   must  do  in   time  ? 

X 


322   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Why  weary  yourself  any  more  with  incessant  struggles 
to  get  back  to  the  world — especially  when  you  are 
so  comfortable  here  ? "  Gradually,  then,  I  settled 
down  and  was  made  absolute  chief  over  a  tribe  of 
perhaps  five  hundred  souls.  Besides  this,  my  fame 
spread  abroad  into  the  surrounding  country,  and  at 
every  new  moon  I  held  a  sort  of  informal  reception, 
which  was  attended  by  deputations  of  tribesmen  for 
hundreds  of  miles  around.  My  own  tribe  already 
possessed  a  chieftain  of  their  own,  but  my  position 
was  one  of  even  greater  influence  than  his.  More- 
over, I  was  appointed  to  it  without  having  to  undergo 
the  painful  ceremonies  that  initiation  entails.  My  im- 
munity in  this  respect  was  of  course  owing  to  my 
supposed  great  powers,  and  the  belief  that  I  was  a 
returned  spirit.  I  was  always  present  at  tribal  and 
war  councils,  and  also  had  some  authority  over  other 
tribes. 

I  adopted  every  device  I  could  think  of  to  make 
my  dwelling  home-like,  and  I  even  journeyed  many 
miles  in  a  NNE.  direction,  to  procure  cuttings  of 
grape  vines  I  had  seen  ;  but  I  must  say  that  this  at 
any  rate  was  labour  in  vain,  because  I  never  improved 
upon  the  quality  of  the  wild  grapes,  which  had  a 
sharp,  acid  flavour,  that  affected  the  throat  somewhat 
unpleasantly  until  one  got  used  to  them. 

When  I  speak  of  my  "  mountain  home,"  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  I  remained  in  one  place.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  in  accordance  with  my  usual  practice, 
I  took  long  excursions  in  different  directions  extending 
over  weeks  and  even  months  at  a  time.  On  these 
occasions  I  always  took  with  me  a  kind  of  nut,  which, 
when  eaten,  endowed  one  with  reiparkable  powers  of 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  323 

vitality  and  endurance.  Since  my  return  to  civilisation 
I  have  heard  of  the  Kola  nut,  but  cannot  say  whether 
the  substance  used  by  the  Australian  aboriginal  is 
the  same  or  not.  I  remember  we  generally  roasted 
ours,  and  ate  it  as  we  tramped  along.  In  the  course 
of  my  numerous  journeys  abroad  I  blazed  or  marked 
a  great  number  of  trees ;  my  usual  mark  being  an 
oval,  in  or  underneath  which  I  generally  carved  the 
letter  "  L."  I  seldom  met  with  hostile  natives  in 
this  region,  but  when  I  did  my  mysterious  bow 
and  arrows  generally  sufficed  to  impress  them.  By 
the  way,  I  never  introduced  the  bow  as  a  weapon 
among  the  blacks,  and  they,  on  their  part,  never  tried 
to  imitate  me.  They  are  a  conservative  race,  and  are 
perfectly  satisfied  with  their  own  time-honoured 
weapons. 

Wild  geese  and  ducks  were  plentiful  in  those 
regions,  and  there  was  an  infinite  variety  of  game. 
From  this  you  will  gather  that  our  daily  fare  was 
both  ample  and  luxurious. 

And  we  had  pets ;  I  remember  I  once  caught  a 
live  cockatoo,  and  trained  him  to  help  me  in  my 
hunting  expeditions.  I  taught  him  a  few  English 
phrases,  such  as  "  Good-morning,"  and  "  How  are 
you  ?  "  ;  and  he  would  perch  himself  on  a  tree  and 
attract  great  numbers  of  his  kind  around  him  by  his 
incessant  chattering.  I  would  then  knock  over  as 
many  as  I  wanted  by  means  of  my  bow  and  arrows. 
At  this  time,  indeed,  I  had  quite  a  menagerie  of 
animals,  including  a  tame  kangaroo.  Naturally 
enough,  I  had  ample  leisure  to  study  the  ethnology 
of  my  people.  I  soon  made  the  discovery  that  my 
blacks  were  intensely  spiritualistic ;  and  once  a  year 


324  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

they  held  a  festival  which,  when  described,  will, 
I  am  afraid,  tax  the  credulity  of  my  readers.  The 
festival  I  refer  to  was  held  "  when  the  sun  was  born 
again," — i.e.^  soon  after  the  shortest  day  of  the  year, 
which  would  be  sometime  in  June.  On  these  occa- 
sions the  adult  warriors  from  far  and  near  assembled 
at  a  certain  spot,  and  after  a  course  of  festivities, 
sat  down  to  an  extraordinary  seance  conducted  by 
women — very  old,  wizened  witches — who  apparently 
possessed  occult  powers,  and  were  held  in  great 
veneration.  These  witches  are  usually  maintained  at 
the  expense  of  the  tribe.  The  office,  however,  does 
not  necessarily  descend  from  mother  to  daughter,  it 
being  only  women  credited  with  supernatural  powers 
who  can  claim  the  position. 

After  the  great  corrohoree  the  people  would  squat 
on  the  ground,  the  old  men  and  warriors  in  front, 
the  women  behind,  and  the  children  behind  them. 
The  whole  congregation  was  arranged  in  the  form 
of  a  crescent,  in  the  centre  of  which  a  large  fire 
would  be  set  burning.  Some  of  the  warriors  would 
then  start  chanting,  and  their  monotonous  sing-song 
would  presently  be  taken  up  by  the  rest  of  the 
gathering,  to  the  accompaniment  of  much  swaying  of 
heads  and  beating  of  hands  and  thighs.  The  young 
warriors  then  went  out  into  the  open  and  commenced 
to  dance. 

I  may  as  well  describe  in  detail  the  first  of  these 
extraordinary  festivals  which  I  witnessed.  The  men 
chanted  and  danced  themselves  into  a  perfect  frenzy, 
which  was  still  further  increased  by  the  appearance 
of  three  or  four  witches  who  suddenly  rose  up  before 
the  fire.      They  were  very  old  and  haggard-looking 


aL_--,---3 


AN   EXTRAORDINARY   FESTIVAL 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   327 

creatures,  with  skins  like  shrivelled  parchment ;  they 
had  scanty,  dishevelled  hair,  and  piercing,  beady  eyes. 
They  were  not  ornamented  in  any  way,  and  seemed 
more  like  skeletons  from  a  tomb  than  human  beings. 
After  they  had  gyrated  wildly  round  the  fire  for 
a  short  time,  the  chant  suddenly  ceased,  and  the 
witches  fell  prostrate  upon  the  ground,  calling  out  as 
they  did  so  the  names  of  some  departed  chiefs.  A 
deathly  silence  then  fell  on  the  assembled  gathering, 
and  all  eyes  were  turned  towards  the  wreaths  of 
smoke  that  were  ascending  into  the  evening  sky.  The 
witches  presently  renewed  their  plaintive  cries  and 
exhortations,  and  at  length  I  was  amazed  to  see 
strange  shadowy  forms  shaping  themselves  in  the 
smoke.  At  first  they  were  not  very  distinct,  but 
gradually  they  assumed  the  form  of  human  beings, 
and  then  the  blacks  readily  recognised  them  as  one 
or  other  of  their  long-departed  chiefs — estimable  men 
always  and  great  fighters.  The  baser  sort  never  put 
in  an  appearance. 

Now  the  first  two  or  three  times  I  saw  this  weird 
and  fantastic  ceremony,  I  thought  the  apparitions 
were  the  result  of  mere  trickery. 

But  when  I  saw  them  year  after  year,  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  they  must  be  placed  in  the  cate- 
gory of  those  things  which  are  beyond  the  ken  of 
our  philosophy.  I  might  say  that  no  one  was  allowed 
to  approach  sufficiently  close  to  touch  the  "  ghosts," 
— if  such  they  can  be  termed  ;  and  probably  even  if 
permission  had  been  granted,  the  blacks  would  have 
been  in  too  great  a  state  of  terror  to  have  availed 
themselves  of  it. 

Each    of   these  seances   lasted    twenty   minutes  or 


328   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

half-an-hour,  and  were  mainly  conducted  in  silence. 
While  the  apparitions  were  visible,  the  witches  re- 
mained prostrate,  and  the  people  looked  on  quite 
spellbound.  Gradually  the  phantoms  would  melt  away 
again  in  the  smoke,  and  vanish  from  sight,  after  which 
the  assembly  would  disperse  in  silence.  By  next 
morning  all  the  invited  blacks  would  have  gone  off 
to  their  respective  homes.  The  witches,  as  I  after- 
wards learnt,  lived  alone  in  caves ;  and  that  they 
possessed  wonderful  powers  of  prophecy  was  evidenced 
in  my  own  case,  because  they  told  me  when  I  came 
among  them  that  I  would  still  be  many  years  with 
their  people,  but  I  would  eventually  return  to  my 
own  kind.  The  warriors,  too,  invariably  consulted 
these  oracles  before  departing  on  hunting  or  fighting 
expeditions,  and  religiously  followed  their  advice. 


CHAPTER    XVT 

A  teacher  of  English — Myself  as  a  black-fellow — I  rest  content — An 
unknown  terror — Manufacture  of  gunpowder — A  curious  find — 
The  fiery  raft — In  the  lair  of  snakes — A  dangerous  enemy — An 
exciting  scene — A  queer  sport — Respect  for  the  victor — A  vain 
hope — Sore  disappointment — Yamba  in  danger — A  strange  duel 
— My  opponent  greets  me. 

MY  two  children  were  a  source  of  great  delight  to 
me  at  this  time, — although  of  course  they  were 
half-castes,  the  colour  of  their  skin  being  -very  little 
different  from  that  of  their  mother.  The  whiteness 
of  their  hands  and  finger-nails,  however,  clearly  indi- 
cated their  origin.  They  were  not  christened  in  the 
Christian  way,  neither  were  they  brought  up  exactly 
in  the  same  way  as  the  native  children. 

I  taught  them  English.  I  loved  them  very  dearly, 
and  used  to  make  for  them  a  variety  of  gold  orna- 
ments, such  as  bangles  and  armlets.  They  did  not 
participate  in  all  the  rough  games  of  the  black 
children,  yet  they  were  very  popular,  having  winning 
manners,  and  being  very  quick  to  learn.  I  often  told 
them  about  my  life  in  other  parts  of  the  world  ;  but 
whenever  I  spoke  of  civilisation,  I  classed  all  the 
nations  of  the  universe  together,  and  referred  to  them 
as  *'  my  home,"  or  "  my  country."  I  did  not  attempt  to 
distinguish  between  France  and  Switzerland,  England 

32Q 


S30     DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

and  America.  Curiously  enough,  the  subject  that  in- 
terested them  most  was  the  animal  kingdom,  and 
when  I  told  them  that  I  hoped  some  day  to  take 
them  away  with  me  to  see  my  great  country  and  the 
animals  it  contained,  they  were  immensely  delighted. 
Particularly  they  wanted  to  see  the  horse,  the  lion, 
and  the  elephant.  Taking  a  yam-stick  as  pointer,  I 
would  often  draw  roughly  in  the  sand  almost  every 
animal  in  Nature.  But  even  when  these  rough  de- 
signs were  made  for  my  admiring  audience,  I  found 
it  extremely  difficult  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  part 
in  the  economy  of  Nature  which  each  creature  played. 
I  would  tell  them,  however,  that  the  horse  was  used 
for  fighting  purposes  and  for  travel  ;  that  the  cow 
yielded  food  and  drink,  and  that  the  dogs  drew 
sledges.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  to  dwell  only 
on  the  utilitarian  side  of  things.  Beasts  of  burden 
would  be  incomprehensible.  Both  of  my  children 
were  very  proud  of  my  position  among  and  influence 
over  the  blacks. 

And  really  I  looked  like  a  black-fellow  myself  at 
this  time — not  so  much  on  account  of  exposure,  as 
because  my  body  was  constantly  coated  with  the 
charcoal  and  grease  which  serves  as  a  protection 
from  the  weather  and  from  insects.  My  children, 
you  may  be  interested  to  learn,  never  grasped  the 
fact  that  my  exile  was  other  than  quite  voluntary 
on  my  part. 

The  children  of  the  blacks  continued  to  interest 
me  as  much  as  ever  (I  was  always  fond  of  children) ; 
and  I  never  grew  tired  of  watching  them  at  their 
quaint  little  games.  I  think  they  all  loved  me  as 
much  as  I  did  them,  and  I  was  glad  to  see  that  their 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  331 

lives  were  one  long  dream  of  happiness.  They  had 
no  school  to  attend,  no  work  to  perform,  and  no 
punishment  to  suffer.  There  are  no  children  like  the 
children  of  the  bush  for  perfect  contentment.  They 
seldom  or  never  quarrelled,  and  were  all  day  long 
playing  happily  about  the  camp,  practising  throwing 
their  reed  spears  ;  climbing  the  trees  after  the  honey- 
pods,  and  indulging  in  a  thousand  and  one  merry 
pranks.  Often  and  often  I  looked  at  those  robust 
little  rascals,  and  compared  them  sadly  with  my  own 
children,  who  were  delicate  almost  from  birth,  and 
who  caused  me  so  much  anxiety  and  heartache. 

When  the  combination  of  circumstances,  which  is 
now  well  known  to  my  readers,  caused  me  to  settle 
in  my  mountain  home,  two  or  three  hundred  miles 
to  the  north  of  Gibson's  Desert,  I  had  no  idea  that 
I  should  remain  there  for  many  years. 

But  strangely  enough,  as  year  after  year  slipped 
by,  the  desire  to  return  to  civilisation  seemed  to  leave 
me,  and  I  grew  quite  content  with  my  lot.  Gradually 
I  began  to  feel  that  if  civilisation — represented,  say, 
by  a  large  caravan — were  to  come  to  me,  and  its 
leader  was  willing  not  merely  to  take  me  away,  but 
my  wife  and  children  also,  then  indeed  I  would  con- 
sent to  go ;  but  for  no  other  consideration  could  I  be 
induced  to  leave  those  who  were  now  so  near  and 
dear  to  me.  I  may  as  well  mention  here  that  I  had 
many  chances  of  returning  alone  to  civilisation,  but 
never  availed  myself  of  them.  As  I  spent  the  greater 
part  of  twenty  years  in  my  mountain  home,  it  stands 
to  reason  that  it  is  this  part  of  my  career  which  I  con- 
sult for  curious  and  remarkable  incidents. 

One  day  a  great  darkness  suddenly  came  over  the 


332  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

face  of  Nature.  The  sombre  gloom  was  relieved  only 
by  a  strange  lurid  glare,  which  hung  on  the  distant 
horizon  far  away  across  that  weird  land.  The  air 
was  soon  filled  with  fine  ashes,  which  descended  in 
such  quantities  as  to  cover  all  vegetation,  and  com- 
pletely hide  exposed  water-holes  and  lagoons.  Even 
at  the  time  I  attributed  the  phenomenon  to  volcanic 
disturbance,  and  I  have  since  found  that  it  was 
most  likely  due  to  an  eruption  of  the  volcano  of 
Krakatoa.  This  visitation  occasioned  very  great 
consternation  among  the  superstitious  blacks,  who 
concluded  that  the  spirits  had  been  angered  by 
some  of  their  own  misdeeds,  and  were  manifesting 
their  wrath  in  this  unpleasant  way.  I  did  not 
attempt  to  enlighten  them  as  to  its  true  cause,  but 
gave  them  to  understand  vaguely  that  /  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  it.  I  also  told  them  that  the  great 
spirit,  whose  representative  I  was,  was  burning  up 
the  land. 

Another  phenomenon  that  caused  much  mystifica- 
tion and  terror  was  an  eclipse  of  the  sun.  Never 
have  I  seen  my  blacks  in  such  a  state  of  excite- 
ment and  terror  as  when  that  intense  darkness  came 
suddenly  over  the  world  at  midday.  They  came 
crowding  instinctively  to  me,  and  I  stood  silent  among 
the  cowering  creatures,  not  thinking  it  politic  for  a 
moment  to  break  the  strange  and  appalling  stillness 
that  prevailed  on  every  hand — and  which  extended 
even  to  the  animal  world.  The  trembling  blacks  were 
convinced  that  night  had  suddenly  descended  upon 
them,  but  they  had  no  explanation  whatever  to  offer. 
They  seemed  quite  unfamiliar  with  the  phenomenon, 
and  it  was  apparently  not  one  of  those  many  things 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  333 

which  their  forefathers  wove  superstitious  stories 
around,  to  hand  down  to  their  children.  As  the  great 
darkness  continued,  the  natives  retired  to  rest,  without 
even  holding  the  usual  evening  chant.  I  did  not 
attempt  to  explain  the  real  reason  of  the  phenomenon, 
but  as  I  had  no  particular  end  to  serve,  I  did  not  tell 
them  that  it  was  due  to  my  power. 

Never  once,  you  see,  did  I  lose  an  opportunity  of 
impressing  the  savages  among  whom  I  dwelt.  On 
several  occasions,  having  all  the  ingredients  at  my 
disposal,  I  attempted  to  make  gunpowder,  but  truth 
to  tell,  my  experiments  were  not  attended  with  very 
great  success.  I  had  charcoal,  saltpetre,  and  sulphur 
ready  to  my  hand, — all  obtainable  from  natural 
sources  close  by  ;  but  the  result  of  all  my  efforts  (and 
I  tried  mixing  the  ingredients  in  every  conceivable 
way)  was  a  very  coarse  kind  of  powder  with  practi- 
cally no  explosive  force,  but  which  would  go  off  with 
an  absurd  "puff." 

Now  I  was  very  anxious  to  make  an  explosive 
powder,  not  merely  because  it  would  assist  me  in 
impressing  the  blacks,  but  also  because  I  proposed 
carrying  out  certain  blasting  operations  in  order  to 
obtain  minerals  and  stones  which  I  thought  would  be 
useful.  The  net  result  was  that  although  I  could  not 
manufacture  any  potent  explosive,  yet  I  did  succeed 
in  arousing  the  intense  curiosity  of  the  blacks.  My 
powder  burnt  without  noise,  and  the  natives  could 
never  quite  make  out  where  the  flame  came  from. 

As  there  seemed  to  be  a  never-ending  eagerness  on 
the  part  of  the  blacks  to  witness  the  wonders  of  the 
white  man,  I  even  tried  my  hand  at  making  ice — a 
commodity  which  is,  of  course,  absolutely  unknown  in 


334  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Central  Australia.  The  idea  came  to  me  one  day  when 
I  found  myself  in  a  very  cool  cave,  in  which  there  was 
a  well  of  surprisingly  cold  water.  Accordingly,  I  filled 
some  opossum  skins  with  the  refreshing  fluid,  placed 
them  in  the  coolest  part  of  the  cave,  and  then  covered 
them  with  saltpetre,  of  which  there  was  an  abundance. 
When  I  tell  you  that  the  experiment  was  quite  fruit- 
less, you  will  readily  understand  that  I  did  not  always 
succeed  in  my  role  of  wonder-worker.  But  when- 
ever I  was  defeated,  it  only  had  the  effect  of  making 
me  set  my  wits  to  work  to  devise  something  still 
more  wonderful  —  something  which  I  was  certain 
would   be   an   assured   success. 

Whilst  taking  a  stroll  in  the  region  of  my 
mountain  home  one  day,  my  eyes — which  were  by 
this  time  almost  as  highly  trained  as  those  of  the 
blacks  themselves — suddenly  fastened  upon  a  thin 
stream  of  some  greenish  fluid  which  was  apparently 
oozing  out  of  the  rocky  ground.  Closer  investiga- 
tion proved  that  this  was  not  water.  I  collected  a 
quantity  of  it  in  a  kangaroo  skin,  but  this  took  a 
considerable  time,  because  the  liquid  oozed  very 
slowly. 

I  would  not  have  taken  this  trouble  were  it  not 
that  I  was  pretty  certain  /  had  discovered  a  spring  of 
crude  petroleum.  Immediately,  and  by  a  kind  of  in- 
stinct, it  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  make  use  of 
this  oil  as  yet  another  means  of  impressing  the  blacks 
with  my  magical  powers.  I  told  no  one  of  my  dis- 
covery— not  even  Yamba.  First  of  all  I  constructed 
a  sort  of  raft  from  the  branches  of  trees,  thoroughly 
saturating  each  branch  with  the  oil.  I  also  placed  a 
shallow  skin  reservoir  of  oil  on  the  upper  end  of  the  raft, 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  335 

and  concealed  it  with  twigs  and  leaves.  This  done, 
I  launched  my  interesting  craft  on  the  waters  of  the 
lagoon,  having  so  far  carried  out  all  my  preparations 
in  the  strictest  secrecy.  When  everything  was  ready 
I  sent  out  invitations  by  mail-men,  smoke  signals, 
and  message  sticks  to  tribes  both  far  and  near,  to  come 
and  see  me  set  fire  to  the  water  I  In  parentheses,  I 
may  remark,  that  with  regard  to  smoke-signals,  white 
smoke  only  is  allowed  to  ascend  in  wreaths  and  curls  ; 
while  black  smoke  is  sent  up  in  one  great  volume. 
As  by  this  time  my  fame  was  pretty  well  established, 
the  wonder-loving  children  of  Nature  lost  no  time  in 
responding  to  the  summons  ;  and  at  length,  when  the 
mystic  glow  of  a  Central  Australian  evening  had  settled 
over  the  scene,  a  great  gathering  established  itself 
on  the  shores  of  the  lagoon.  On  such  occasions, 
however,  I  always  saw  to  it  that  my  audience  were 
not  too  near.  But  anyhow  there  was  little  chance  of 
failure,  because  the  blacks  had  long  since  grown  to 
believe  in  me  blindly  and  implicitly. 

With  much  ceremony  I  set  fire  to  the  raft,  hoisted 
a  little  bark  sail  upon  it,  and  pushed  it  off.  It  lay 
very  low  in  the  water,  and  as  the  amazed  onlookers 
saw  it  gliding  across  the  placid  waters  of  the  lagoon 
enveloped  in  smoke  and  flames,  they  did  actually 
believe  that  I  had  set  fire  to  the  water  itself — 
particularly  when  the  blazing  oil  was  seen  in  lurid 
patches  on  the  placid  surface.  They  remained  watch- 
ing till  the  fire  died  down,  when  they  retired  to  their 
own  homes,  more  convinced  than  ever  that  the  white 
man  among  them  was  indeed  a  great  and  powerful 
spirit. 

But,  human   nature  being  fundamentally  the  same 


336  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

all  the  world  over,  it  was  natural  enough  —  and, 
indeed,  the  wonder  is  how  I  escaped  so  long — that 
one  or  other  of  the  tribal  medicine-men  should  get 
jealous  of  my  power  and  seek  to  overthrow  me. 
Now,  the  medicine-man  belonging  to  the  tribe  in  my 
mountain  home  presently  found  himself  (or  fancied 
himself)  under  a  cloud, — the  reason,  of  course,  being 
that  my  display  of  wonders  far  transcended  anything 
which  he  himself  could  do.  So  my  rival  commenced 
an  insidious  campaign  against  me,  trying  to  explain 
away  every  wonderful  thing  that  I  did,  and  assuring 
the  blacks  that  if  I  were  a  spirit  at  all  it  was  certainly 
a  spirit  of  evil.  He  never  once  lost  an  opportunity 
of  throwing  discredit  and  ridicule  upon  me  and  my 
powers  ;  and  at  length  I  discerned  symptoms  in  the 
tribe  which  rendered  it  imperatively  necessary  that  I 
should  take  immediate  and  drastic  steps  to  overthrow 
my  enemy,  who,  by  the  way,  had  commenced  trying 
to  duplicate  every  one  of  my  tricks  or  feats.  I  gave 
the  matter  some  little  thought,  and  one  day,  whilst 
out  on  one  of  my  solitary  rambles,  I  came  across 
a  curious  natural  feature  of  the  landscape,  which 
suggested  to  me  a  novel  and,  I  venture  to  say,  re- 
markable solution  of  a  very  serious  situation. 

I  suddenly  found  myself  on  the  brink  of  a  peculiar 
basin-like  depression,  which,  from  its  obvious  damp- 
ness and  profusion  of  bush  and  cover,  I  at  once 
recognised  as  the  ideal  abode  of  innumerable  snakes. 
I  marked  the  spot  in  my  mind,  and  returned  home, 
pondering  the  details  of  the  dramatic  victory  I  hoped 
to  win.  Day  by  day  I  returned  to  this  depression  and 
caught  numerous  black  and  carpet  snakes.  From 
each  of  these  dangerous  and  poisonous  reptiles  I  re- 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  337 

moved  the  poison  fangs  only  ;  and  then,  after  scoring 
it  with  a  cross  by  means  of  my  stiletto,  I  let  it  go, 
knowing  that  it  would  never  leave  a  spot  so  ideal — 
from  a  snake's  point  of  view.  I  operated  on  a  great 
number  of  the  deadly  reptiles  in  this  way,  but,  of 
course  there  remained  many  who  were  not  so  treated  ; 
whilst  several  of  my  queer  patients  died  outright 
under  the  operation.  Needless  to  say,  I  might  have 
met  my  own  death  in  this  extraordinary  business  had 
I  not  been  assisted  by  my  devoted  wife.  When  we 
had  finished  our  work,  there  was  absolutely  nothing 
in  the  appearance  of  the  place  to  indicate  that  it  was 
any  different  from  its  state  when  I  first  cast  my  eyes 
upon  it. 

Then,  all  being  ready,  I  chose  a  specially  dramatic 
moment  at  a  corroboree  to  challenge  my  rival  in  a  war 
song,  this  challenge  being  substantially  as  follows  : 
''You  tell  the  people  that  you  are  as  great  as  I — the 
all-powerful  white  spirit-man.  Well,  now,  I  offer  you 
a  formal  challenge  to  perform  the  feat  which  I  shall 
perform  on  a  certain  day  and  at  a  certain  spot."  The 
day  was  the  very  next  day,  and  the  spot,  the  scene 
of  my  strange  surgical  operations  upon  the  snakes. 
The  effect  of  my  challenge  was  magical. 

The  jealous  medicine-man,  boldly  and  openly 
challenged  before  the  whole  tribe,  had  no  time  to 
make  up  an  evasive  reply,  and  he  accepted  then 
and  there.  Urgent  messages  were  despatched,  by 
the  fun-loving  blacks,  to  all  the  tribes,  so  that  we 
were  pretty  sure  of  a  large  and  attentive  audience. 
It  was  about  midday  when  the  ridge  round  the  de- 
pression was  crowded  with  expectant  blacks,  every 
one  of  whom  dearly  loved  a  contest,  or  competition,  of 

Y 


338   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

whatever  kind.  I  lost  no  time — for  in  love  or  war 
shilly-shallying  is  unknown  among  the  blacks — but 
boldly  leaped  down  into  the  hollow  armed  only  with 
a  reed  whistle,  which  I  had  made  for  myself  solely 
with  the  view  of  enticing  the  snakes  from  their  holes. 
I  cast  a  triumphant  glance  at  my  impassive  rival, 
who,  up  to  this  moment,  had  not  the  faintest  idea 
what  the  proposed  ordeal  was.  I  commenced  to  play 
as  livel}^  a  tune  as  the  limited  number  of  notes  in  the 
whistle  would  allow,  and  before  I  had  been  playing 
many  minutes  the  snakes  came  gliding  out,  swinging 
their  heads  backwards  and  forwards  and  from  side  to 
side  as  though  they  were  under  a  spell.  Selecting  a 
huge  black  snake,  who  bore  unobtrusively  my  safety 
mark,  1  pounced  down  upon  him  and  presented  my 
bare  arm.  After  teasing  the  reptile  two  or  three 
times  I  allowed  him  to  strike  his  teeth  deep  into  my 
flesh,  and  immediately  the  blood  began  to  run.  I 
also  permitted  several  other  fangless  snakes  to  bite 
me  until  my  arms  and  legs,  breast  and  back,  were 
covered  with  blood.  Personally,  I  did  not  feel  much 
the  worse,  as  the  bites  were  mere  punctures,  and  I 
knew  the  selected  reptiles  to  be  quite  innocuous. 
Several  "  unmarked  "  snakes,  however,  manifested  an 
eager  desire  to  join  in  the  fun,  and  I  had  some 
difficulty  in  escaping  their  deadly  attentions.  I  had 
to  wave  them  aside  with  a  stick. 

All  this  time  the  blacks  above  me  were  yelling 
with  excitement,  and  I  am  under  the  impression  that 
several  were  lamenting  my  madness,  whilst  others 
were  turning  angrily  upon  my  rival,  and  accusing 
him  of  having  brought  about  my  death.  At  a  favour- 
able moment  I  rushed  up  the  ridge  of  the  hollow  and 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF* 


339 


stood  before  the  horrified  medicine-man,  who,  in 
response  to  my  triumphant  demand  to  go  and  do 
likewise,    returned   a   feeble    and   tremulous   negative. 


A    STRANGE    PERFORMANCE 


Even  he,   I  think,  was  now  sincerely  convinced   that 
I  possessed  superhuman  powers;  but  it  would  have 


340   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

been  awkward  had  he  come  along  when  I  was  labori- 
ously and  surreptitiously  extracting  the  poison  fangs 
from  the  snakes,  and  placing  my  "hall  mark"  upon 
them. 

His  refusal  cost  him  his  prestige,  and  he  was 
forthwith  driven  from  the  tribe  as  a  fraud,  whilst  my 
fame  rose  higher  than  ever.  The  blacks  now  wished 
me  to  take  over  the  office  of  medicine-man,  but  I 
declined  to  do  so,  and  nominated  instead  a  youth  I 
had  trained  for  the  position.  It  may  be  necessary 
here  to  remark  that  the  blacks,  under  no  circum- 
stances, kill  a  medicine-man.  My  defeated  rival  was 
a  man  of  very  considerable  power,  and  I  knew  quite, 
well  that  if  I  did  not  get  the  best  of  him  he  would 
have  me  driven  out  of  the  tribe  and  perhaps  speared. 

Mention  of  the  snake  incident  reminds  me  of  a 
very  peculiar  and  interesting  sport  which  the  blacks 
indulge  in.  I  refer  to  fights  between  snakes  and 
iguanas.  These  combats  certainly  afford  very  fine 
sport.  The  two  creatures  are  always  at  mortal 
enmity  with  one  another,  but  as  a  rule  the  iguana 
commences  the  attack,  no  matter  how  much  bigger 
the  snake  may  be  than  himself;  or  whether  it  is 
poisonous  or  not.  I  have  seen  iguanas  attack  black 
snakes  from  six  feet  to  ten  feet  in  length,  whilst 
they  themselves  rarely  measured  more  than  three  or 
four  feet.  As  a  rule  the  iguana  makes  a  snapping 
bite  at  the  snake  a  few  inches  below  its  head,  and 
the  latter  instantly  retaliates  by  striking  its  enemy 
with  its  poisonous  fangs.  Then  an  extraordinary 
thing  happens.  The  iguana  will  let  go  his  hold  and 
straightway  make  for  a  kind  of  fern,  which  he  eats 
in  considerable  quantities,  the  object  of  this  being  to 


AS  TOLD   BY  HIMSELF  341 

counteract  the  effects  of  the  poison.  When  he  thinks 
he  has  had  enough  of  the  antidote  he  rushes  back  to 
the  scene  of  the  encounter  and  resumes  the  attack  ; 
the  snake  always  wails  there  for  him.  Again  and 
ag-iin  the  snake  bites  the  iguana,  and  as  often  the 
latter  has  recourse  to  the  counteracting  influences  of 
the  antidote.  The  fight  may  last  for  upwards  of  an 
hour,  but  eventually  the  iguana  conquers.  The  final 
struggle  is  most  exciting.  The  iguana  seizes  hold  of 
the  snake  five  or  six  inches  below  the  head,  and  this 
time  refuses  to  let  go  his  hold,  no  matter  how  much 
the  snake  may  struggle  and  enwrap  him  in  its  coils. 
Over  and  over  roll  the  combatants,  but  the  grip  of 
the  iguana  is  relentless  ;  and  the  struggles  of  the 
snake  grow  weaker,  until  at  length  he  is  stretched 
out  dead.  Then  the  triumphant  iguana  steals  slowly 
away. 

The  spectators  would  never  dream  of  killing  him, — 
partly  on  account  of  their  admiration  for  his  prowess, 
but  more  particularly  because  his  flesh  is  tainted  with 
poison  from  the  repeated  snake  bites.  These  curious 
fights  generally  take  place  near  water-holes. 

I  have  also  seen  remarkable  combats  between 
snakes  of  various  species  and  sizes.  A  small  snake 
will  always  respond  to  the  challenge  of  a  much  larger 
one,  this  challenge  taking  the  form  of  rearing  up  and 
hissing.  The  little  snake  will  then  advance  slowly 
towards  its  opponent  and  attempt  to  strike,  but,  as 
a  rule,  the  big  one  crushes  it  before  it  can  do  any 
harm.  I  had  often  heard  of  the  joke  about  two 
snakes  of  equal  size  trying  to  swallow  one  another, 
and  was,  therefore,  the  more  interested  when  I  came 
across  this  identical  situation   in  real  life.      One  day, 


342   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

right  in  my  track,  lay  two  very  large  snakes  which 
had  evidently  been  engaged  in  a  very  serious  en- 
counter ;  and  the  victor  had  commenced  swallowing 
his  exhausted  adversary.  He  had  disposed  of  some 
three  or  four  feet  of  that  adversary's  length  when  I 
arrived  on  the  scene,  and  was  evidently  resting  before 
taking  in  the  rest.      I  easily  made  prisoners  of  both. 

Not  long  after  this  incident  a  delusive  hope  was 
held  out  to  me  that  I  might  be  able  to  return  to 
civilisation.  News  was  brought  one  day  that  the 
tracks  of  some  strange  and  hitherto  unknown  animals 
had  been  found  to  the  north,  and,  accompanied  by 
Yamba,  I  went  off  to  inspect  them.  I  found  that 
they  were  camel  tracks — for  the  second  time ;  and  as 
Yamba  informed  me  that,  from  the  appearance  of  the 
trail,  there  was  no  one  with  them,  I  concluded  that 
in  all  probability  the  creatures  were  wild,  having 
long  ago  belonged  to  some  exploring  party  which  had 
come  to  grief. 

**  Here  at  length,"  I  thought,  "  is  the  means  of 
returning  to  civilisation.  If  I  can  only  reach  these 
creatures — and  why  should  I  not  with  so  much  assist- 
ance at  my  disposal  ? — I  will  break  them  in,  and  then 
strike  south  across  the  deserts  with  my  wife  and 
family."  I  returned  to  the  camp,  and  taking  with 
me  a  party  of  the  most  intelligent  tribesmen,  set 
off  after  the  wild  camels.  When  we  had  been 
several  days  continuously  tracking  we  came  up  with 
the  beasts.  There  were  four  of  them  altogether,  and 
right  wild  and  vicious-looking  brutes  they  were. 
They  marched  close  together  in  a  band,  and  never 
parted  company.  The  moment  I  and  my  men  tried 
to   separate   and   head    them    off,    the    leader   would 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  343 

swoop  down  upon  us  with  open  mouth,  and  the  result 
of  this  appalling  apparition  was  that  my  black  assist- 
ants fled  precipitately.  Alone  I  followed  the  camels 
for  several  days  in  the  hope  of  being  able  ultimately 
to  drive  them  into  some  ravine,  where  I  thought  I 
might  possibly  bring  them  into  a  state  of  subjection 
by  systematic  starvation.  But  it  was  a  vain  effort 
on    my   part.      They    kept    in    the    track    of    water- 


CAMELS    IN   THE   DESERT 

holes,  and  wandered  on  from  one  to  the  other  at 
considerable  speed. 

At  length  I  abandoned  hope  altogether,  though  not 
without  a  feeling  of  sore  disappointment,  as  I  watched 
the  curious,  ungainly  creatures  disappearing  over  the 
ridge  of  a  sand-hill.  Of  course  I  took  good  care  not 
to  tell  any  of  the  natives  the  real  reason  of  my  desire 
to  possess  a  camel, — though  I  did  try  to  explain  to 
them  some  of  the  uses  to  which  people  in  other  parts 
of  the  world  put  these  wonderful  animals. 

I    never   lost    an    opportunity   of   leaving   records 


344   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

wherever  I  could.  As  I  have  said  before,  I  was 
constantly  blazing  trees  and  even  making  drawings 
upon  them  ;  and  I  would  have  left  records  in  cairns 
had  I  been  able  to  make  an}'  writing  material.  Talk- 
ing about  this,  I  was  for  a  long  time  possessed  with 
the  desire  to  make  myself  a  kind  of  paper,  and  I  fre- 
quently experimented  with  the  fibres  of  a  certain  kind 
of  tree.  This  material  I  reduced  to  a  pulp,  and  then 
endeavoured  to  roll  into  sheets.  Here  again,  how- 
ever, I  had  to  confess  failure.  I  found  the  ordinary 
sheets  of.  bark  much  more  suitable  for  my  purpose. 

Pens  I  had  in  thousands  from  the  quills  of  the  wild 
swan  and  goose ;  and  I  made  ink  from  the  juice  of  a 
certain  dark-coloured  berry,  mixed  with  soot,  which  I 
collected  on  the  bottom  of  my  gold  cooking-kettle.  I 
also  thought  it  advisable  to  make  myself  plates  from 
which  to  eat  my  food — not  because  of  any  fastidious- 
ness on  my  part,  but  from  that  ever-present  desire  to 
impress  the  blacks,  which  was  now  my  strongest 
instinct.  In  the  course  of  my  ramblings  in  the 
northern  regions  I  came  across  quantities  of  silver- 
lead,  which  I  smelted  with  the  object  of  obtaining 
lead  to  beat  out  into  plates.  I  also  went  some 
hundreds  of  miles  for  the  sake  of  getting  copper,  and 
found  great  quantities  of  ores  of  different  kinds  in 
the  Kimberley  district. 

A  very  strange  experience  befell  Yamba  not  long 
after  I  had  settled  down  among  the  blacks  in  my 
mountain  home  ;  and  it  serves  to  illustrate  the  strict- 
ness with  which  the  laws  against  poaching  are 
observed.  The  incident  I  am  about  to  relate  con- 
cerned me  very  nearly,  and  might  have  cost  me  my 
life  as  well  as  my  wife.      Well,  it  happened  that  Yamba 


AS   TOLD    BY  HIMSELF  345 

and  I  were  one  day  returning  from  one  of  the  many 
"  walk-abouts  "  which  we  were  constantly  undertaking 
alone  and  with  natives,  and  which  sometimes  ex- 
tended over  several  weeks  and  even  months.  We 
had  pitched  our  camp  for  the  afternoon,  and  Yamba 
went  off,  as  usual,  in  search  of  roots  and  game  for 
the  evening  meal.  She  had  been  gone  some  little 
time  when  I  suddenly  heard  her  well-known  ''  coo- 
eey  "  and  knowing  that  she  must  be  in  trouble  of  some 
kind,  I  immediately  grasped  my  weapons  and  went 
off  to  her  rescue,  guiding  myself  by  her  tracks. 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  away  I  came  upon  a  scene 
that  filled  me  with  amazement.  There  was  Yamba 
— surely  the  most  devoted  wife  a  man,  civilised  or 
savage,  ever  had — struggling  in  the  midst  of  quite 
a  crowd  of  blacks,  who  were  yelling  and  trying 
forcibly  to  drag  her  away.  At  once  I  saw  what 
had  happened.  Yamba  had  been  hunting  for  roots 
over  the  boundary  of  territory  belonging  to  a  tribe 
with  whom  we  had  not  yet  made  friends;  and  as  she 
had  plainly  been  guilty  of  the  great  crime  of  trespass, 
she  was,  according  to  inviolable  native  law,  confis- 
cated by  those  who  had  detected  her.  I  rushed  up 
to  the  blacks  and  began  to  remonstrate  with  them 
in  their  own  tongue,  but  they  were  both  trucu- 
lent and  obstinate,  and  refused  to  release  my  now 
weeping  and  terrified  Yamba.  At  last  we  effected 
a  compromise, — I  agreeing  to  accompany  the  party, 
with  their  captive,  back  to  their  encampment,  and 
there  have  the  matter  settled  by  the  chief.  Fortu- 
nately we  had  not  many  miles  to  march,  but,  as  I 
anticipated,  the  chief  took  the  side  of  his  own  warriors, 
and    promptly    declared    that    he    would    appropriate 


346  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Yamba  for  himself.  I  explained  to  him,  but  in  vain, 
that  my  wife's  trespass  was  committed  all  unknow- 
ingly, and  that  had  I  known  his  tribe  were  encamped 
in  the  district,  I  would  have  come  immediately  and 
stayed  with  them  a  few  nights. 

As  showing  what  a  remarkable  person  I  was,  I 
went  through  part  of  my  acrobatic  repertoire ;  and 
even  my  poor  eager  Bruno,  who  evidently  scented 
trouble,  began  on  his  own  account  to  give  a  hurried 
and  imperfect  show.  He  stood  on  his  head  and 
tumbled  backwards  and  forwards  in  a  lamentably  loose 
and  unscientific  manner,  barking  and  yelling  all  the 
time. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  wily  chief  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  see  more  of  us  or  not ;  but  at  any  rate 
he  looked  at  me  very  fiercely  as  though  determined 
to  carry  his  point,  and  then  replied  that  there  was 
but  one  law — which  was  that  Yamba  should  be  con- 
fiscated for  poaching,  whether  the  crime  was  intentional 
on  her  part  or  not.  So  emphatically  was  this  said 
that  I  began  to  think  I  had  really  lost  my  faithful 
companion  for  ever.  As  this  awful  thought  grew 
upon  me,  and  I  pondered  over  the  terrible  past,  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  if  necessary  I  would  lose  my 
own  life  in  her  defence,  and  to  this  end  I  adopted  a 
very  haughty  attitude,  which  caused  the  chief  suddenly 
to  discover  a  kind  of  by-law  to  the  effect  that  in  such 
cases  as  this  one  the  nearest  relative  of  the  prisoner 
might  win  her  back  by  fighting  for  her.  This,  of 
course,  was  what  I  wanted,  above  all  things — particu- 
larly as  the  old  chief  had  not  as  yet  seen  me  use  my 
wonderful  weapons.  And  as  I  felt  certain  he  would 
choose  throwing  spears,  I  knew  that  victory  was  mine. 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  347 

He  selected,  with  a  critical  eye,  three  well-made  spears, 
whilst  I  chose  three  arrows,  which  I  purposely  bran- 
dished aloft,  so  as  to  give  my  opponent  the  impression 
that  they  were  actually  small  spears,  and  were  to  be 
thrown,  as  such,  javelin-fashion.  The  old  chief  and 
his  blacks  laughed  heartily  and  pityingly  at  this  exhi- 
bition, and  ridiculed  the  idea  that  I  could  do  any 
damage  with  such  toy  weapons. 

The  demeanour  of  the  chief  himself  was  eloquent  of 
the  good-humoured  contempt  in  which  he  held  me  as 
an  antagonist ;  and  a  distance  of  twenty  paces  having 
been  measured  out,  we  took  our  places  and  prepared 
for  the  dramatic  encounter,  upon  which  depended 
something  more  precious  to  me  than  even  my  own 
life.  Although  outwardly  cool  and  even  haughty,  I 
was  really  in  a  state  of  most  terrible  anxiety.  I  fixed 
my  eyes  intently  upon  the  spare  but  sinewy  chief,  and 
without  moving  a  muscle  allowed  him  to  throw  his 
spears  first.  The  formidable  weapons  came  whizzing 
through  the  air  with  extraordinary  rapidity  one  after 
the  other ;  but  long  experience  of  the  weapon  and  my 
own  nimbleness  enabled  me  to  avoid  them.  But  no 
sooner  had  I  stepped  back  into  position  for  the  third 
time  than,  with  lightning  dexterity,  I  unslung  my  bow 
and  let  fly  an  arrow  at  my  antagonist  which  I  had 
purposely  made  heavier  than  usual  by  weighting  it 
with  fully  an  ounce  of  gold.  Naturally  he  failed  to  see 
the  little  feathered  shaft  approach,  and  it  pierced  him 
right  in  the  fleshy  part  of  the  left  thigh — exactly  where 
I  intended.  The  chief  leaped  from  the  ground  more  in 
surprise  than  pain,  as  though  suddenly  possessed  by 
an  evil  spirit.  His  warriors,  too,  were  vastly  im- 
pressed.    As  blood  was  drawn   in  this  way,  honour 


348   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

and  the  law  were  alike  supposed  to  be  satisfied,  so 
Yamba  was  immediately  restored  to  me,  trembling  and 
half  afraid  to  credit  her  own  joyful  senses. 

My  readers  will,  perhaps,  wonder  why  these  cannibal 
savages  did  not  go  back  on  their  bargain  and  refuse  to 
give  her  up,  even  after  I  had  vanquished  their  chief  in 
fair  fight;  but  the  honourable  course  they  adopted  is 
attributable  solely  to  their  own  innate  sense  of  fair- 
play,  and  their  admiration  for  superior  prowess  and 
skill. 

Why,  when  the  chief  had  recovered  from  his  as- 
tonishment he  came  up  to  me,  and  greeted  me  warmly, 
without  even  taking  the  trouble  to  remove  my  arrow 
from  his  bleeding  thigh !  We  became  the  very  best 
of  friends ;  and  Yamba  and  I  stayed  with  him  for  some 
days  as  his  guests.  When  at  length  we  were  obliged 
to  leave,  he  gave  me  quite  an  imposing  escort,  as 
though  I  were  a  powerful  friendly  chief  who  had  done 
him  a  great  service  ! 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Mosquitoes  and  leeches — I  explain  pictures — An  awkward  admission 
— My  great  portrait — The  stomach  as  a  deity — The  portrait  a 
success — A  colossal  statue  of  "H.R.H." — Fish  without  eyes — A 
sad  reflection — A  strange  illusion — A  grave  danger — I  sink  a  well 
— "Universal  provider" — A  significant  phenomenon — Bruno  as 
accomplice — I  find  Bruno  dead. 

I  MUST  say  I  was  not  very  much  troubled  with 
mosquitoes  in  my  mountain  home,  and  as  I  had  en- 
dured dreadful  torments  from  these  insects  whilst  at 
Port  Essington  and  other  swampy  places,  I  had  good 
reason  to  congratulate  myself.  Whilst  crossing  some 
low  country  on  one  occasion  I  was  attacked  by  these 
wretched  pests,  whose  bite  penetrated  even  the  clay 
covering  that  protected  my  skin.  Even  the  blacks 
suffered  terribly,  particularly  about  the  eyes.  I, 
however,  had  taken  the  precaution  to  protect  my  eyes 
by  means  of  leaves  and  twigs.  At  Port  Essington  the 
mosquitoes  were  remarkably  large,  and  of  a  greyish 
colour.  They  flew  about  literally  in  clouds,  and  it  was 
practically  impossible  to  keep  clear  of  them. 

The  natives  treated  the  bites  with  an  ointment  made 
from  a  kind  of  penny-royal  herb  and  powdered  char- 
coal. Talking  about  pests,  in  some  parts  the  ants 
were  even  more  terrible  than  the  mosquitoes,  and  I 
have  known  one  variety — a  reddish-brown  monster,  an 
inch  long — to  swarm  over  and  actually  kill  children  by 

349 


3  50  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

stinging  them.  Another  pest  was  the  leech.  It  was 
rather  dangerous  to  bathe  in  some  of  the  lagoons  on 
account  of  the  leeches  that  infested  the  waters.  Often 
in  crossing  a  swamp  I  would  feel  a  slight  tickling  sen- 
sation about  the  legs,  and  on  looking  down  would 
find  my  nether  limbs  simply  coated  with  these  loath- 
some creatures.  The  remarkable  thing  was,  that 
whilst  the  blacks  readily  knew  when  leeches  attacked 
them,  I  would  be  ignorant  for  quite  a  long  time,  until 
I  had  grown  positively  faint  from  loss  of  blood. 
Furthermore,  the  blacks  seemed  to  think  nothing  oi 
their  attacks,  but  would  simply  crush  them  on  their 
persons  in  the  most  nonchalant  manner.  Sometimes 
they  scorch  them  off  their  bodies  by  means  of  a  lighted 
stick — a  kind  office  which  Yamba  performed  for  me. 
The  blacks  had  very  few  real  cures  for  ailments,  and 
such  as  they  had  were  distinctly  curious.  One  cure  for 
rheumatism  was  to  roll  in  the  black,  odourless  mud 
at  the  edge  of  a  lagoon,  and  then  bask  in  the  blazing 
sun  until  the  mud  became  quite  caked  upon  the 
person. 

The  question  may  be  asked  whether  I  ever  tried  to 
tell  my  cannibals  about  the  outside  world.  My  answer 
is,  that  I  only  told  them  just  so  much  as  I  thought 
their  childish  imaginations  would  grasp.  Had  I  told 
them  more,  I  would  simply  have  puzzled  them,  and 
what  they  do  not  understand  they  are  apt  to  suspect. 

Thus,  when  I  showed  them  pictures  of  horse-races 
and  sheep  farms  in  the  copy  of  the  Sydney  Town  and 
Country  Journal  which  I  had  picked  up,  I  was  obliged 
to  tell  them  that  horses  were  used  only  in  war- 
fare, whilst  sheep  were  used  only  as  food.  Had 
I  spoken  about  horses  as   beasts  of  burden,   and  told 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  351 

them  what  was  done  with  the  wool  of  the  sheep,  they 
would  have  been  quite  unable  to  grasp  my  meaning, 
and  so  I  should  have  done  myself  more  harm  than 
good.  They  had  ideas  of  their  own  about  astronomy  ; 
the  fundamental  '^  fact "  being  that  the  earth  was  per- 
fectly flat,  the  sky  being  propped  up  by  poles  placed 
at  the  edges,  and  kept  upright  by  the  spirits  of  the 
departed — who,  so  the  medicine-man  said,  were  con- 
stantly being  sent  offerings  of  food  and  drink.  The 
Milky  Way  was  a  kind  of  Paradise  of  souls ;  whilst 
the  sun  was  the  centre  of  the  whole  creation. 

I  had  often  puzzled  my  brain  for  some  method 
whereby  I  could  convey  to  these  savages  some  idea  of 
the  magnitude  of  the  British  Empire.  I  always  had 
the  British  Empire  in  my  mind,  not  only  because  my 
sympathies  incHned  that  way,  but  also  because  I 
knew  that  the  first  friends  to  receive  me  on  my 
return  to  civilisation  must  necessarily  be  British. 
Over  and  over  again  did  I  tell  the  childish  savages 
grouped  around  me  what  a  mighty  ruler  was  the 
Sovereign  of  the  British  Empire,  which  covered  the 
whole  world.  Also  how  that  Sovereign  had  sent  me 
as  a  special  ambassador^  to  describe  to  them  the 
greatness  of  the  nation  of  which  they  formed  part. 
Thus  you  will  observe  I  never  let  my  blacks 
suspect  I  was  a  mere  unfortunate,  cast  into  their 
midst  by  a  series  of  strange  chances.  I  mentioned 
the  whole  world  because  nothing  less  than  this 
would  have  done.  Had  I  endeavoured  to  distinguish 
between  the  British  Empire  and,  say,  the  German,  I 
should  have  again  got  beyond  my  hearers'  depth,  so 
to  speak,  and  involved  myself  in  difficulties. 

Half  instinctively,  but  without  motive,  1  refrained 


352   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

from  mentioning  that  the  ruler  of  the  British  Empire 
was  a  woman,  but  this  admission  dropped  from  me 
accidentally  one  day,  and  then — what  a  falling  off 
was  there  !  I  instantly  recognised  the  mistake  I  had 
made  from  the  contemptuous  glances  of  my  blacks. 
And  although  I  hastened  to  say  that  she  was  a  mighty 
chieftainess,  upon  whose  dominions  the  sun  never 
set ;  and  that  she  was  actually  the  direct  ruler  of  the 
blacks  themselves,  they  repudiated  her  with  scorn, 
and  contemned  me  for  singing  the  praises  of  a  mere 
woman.  I  had  to  let  this  unfortunate  matter  drop  for 
a  time,  but  the  subject  was  ever  present  in  my  mind, 
and,  I  wondered  how  I  could  retrieve  my  position 
(and  her  Majesty's)  without  eating  my  words.  At 
length  one  day  Yamba  ax^  I  came  across  a  curious 
rugged  limestone  region,  which  was  full  of  caves. 
Whilst  exploring  these  we  came  upon  a  huge,  flat, 
precipitous  surface  of  rock,  and  then — how  or  why, 
I  know  not — the  idea  suddenly  occurred  to  me  to 
draw  a  gigantic  portrait  of  her  Most  Gracious  Majesty 
Queen  Victoria  !  At  this  period,  I  should  mention,  I 
was  a  recognised  chief,  and  periodically — once  every 
new  moon — I  gave  a  kind  of  reception  to  my  people, 
and  also  to  the  neighbouring  tribes.  At  this  interest- 
ing function  I  would  always  contrive  to  have  some 
new  wonder  to  unfold.  My  visitors  never  outstayed 
their  welcome,  and  I  always  managed  to  have  an 
abundance  of  food  for  them. 

Well,  I  came  upon  the  cave  region  a  few  weeks 
after  my  unfortunate  blunder  about  the  Queen  ;  and  I 
determined  to  have  my  great  portrait  ready  for  the 
next  reception  day.  Taking  some  blocks  of  stone  of 
handy  size,  I  first  wetted  the  surface  of  the  rock  and 


AN   EXTRAORDINARY   PORTRAIT 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   355 

then  commenced  to  rub  it,  until  I  had  a  pretty  smooth 
face  to  work  upon.  This  took  some  time,  but  whilst 
I  was  doing  it  Yamba  got  ready  the  necessary  char- 
coal sticks  and  pigments  such  as  the  blacks  decorate 
themselves  with  at  corroborees.  I  had  a  slight  know- 
ledge of  drawing,  and  climbing  up  on  some  projecting 
stones  I  commenced  to  draw  in  bold,  sweeping  outline, 
what  I  venture  to  describe  as  the  most  extraordinary 
portrait  of  Queen  Victoria  on  record.  The  figure, 
which  was  in  profile,  was  perhaps  seven  feet  or  eight 
feet  high,  and  of  more  than  equally  extravagant  pro- 
portions in  other  respects.  Of  course,  the  figure  had 
to  be  represented  entirely  without  clothing,  otherwise 
the  blacks  would  simply  have  been  puzzled.  Now  to 
describe  the  portrait  as  much  in  detail  as  1  dare. 
The  crown  was  composed  of  rare  feathers  such  as 
only  a  redoubtable  and  cunning  hunter  could  obtain  ; 
and  it  included  feathers  of  the  lyre-bird  and  emu.  The 
sceptre  was  a  stupendous  gnarled  waddy  or  club,  such 
as  could  be  used  with  fearful  execution  amongst  one's 
enemies.  The  nose  was  very  large,  because  this  among 
the  blacks  indicates  great  endurance  ;  whilst  the  biceps 
were  abnormally  developed.  In  fact,  I  gave  her  Majesty 
as  much  muscle  as  would  serve  for  half-a-dozen  profes- 
sional pugilists  or  *' strong  men."  The  stomach  was 
much  distended,  and  when  I  state  this  fact  I  am  sure 
it  will  excite  much  curiosity  as  to  the  reason  why. 

Well,  as  the  stomach  is  practically  the  greatest 
deity  these  savages  know,  and  zs  food  is  often  very 
hard  to  obtain,  they  argue  that  a  person  with  a  very 
full  stomach  must  necessarily  be  a  daring  and  skilful 
hunter,  otherwise  he  would  not  be  able  to  get  much 
food  to  put  into  it. 


356  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

This  extraordinary  portrait  was  finally  daubed  and 
decorated  with  brilliant  pigments  and  glaring  splashes 
of  yellow,  red,  and  blue.  I  also  used  a  kind  of  vivid 
red  dye  obtained  from  the  sap  of  a  certain  creeper 
which  was  bruised  between  heavy  stones.  »  I  spent 
perhaps  a  week  or  a  fortnight  on  this  drawing  (I 
could  not  give  all  day  to  it,  of  course)  ;  and  the  only 
persons  who  knew  of  its  existence  were  my  own 
children  and  women-folk.  After  the  completion  of 
the  great  portrait,  I  went  away,  and  waited  impatiently 
for  my  next  reception  day.  When  the  wonder-loving 
blacks  were  again  before  me  I  told  them  that  I  had  a 
remarkable  picture  of  the  great  British  Queen  to  show 
them,  and  then,  full  of  anticipation  and  childish  delight, 
they  trooped  after  me  to  the  spot  where  I  had  drawn 
the  great  picture  on  the  rocks.  It  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say  that  the  crowd  of  cannibals  stood  and  squatted 
in  front  of  my  handiwork  simply  speechless  with 
amazement.  Eventually  they  burst  out  into  cries  of 
wonderment,  making  curious  guttural  sounds  with 
their  lips,  and  smacking  their  thighs  in  token  of  their 
appreciation.  I  pointed  out  every  detail — the  im- 
mense size  of  the  great  Queen,  and  the  various  emblems 
of  her  power  ;  and  at  last,  stepping  back  from  the  rock, 
I  sang  "  God  save  the  Queen,"  the  beautiful  national 
hymn  of  Great  Britain,  which  I  had  learned  from  the 
two  ill-fated  girls,  and  which,  you  will  remember,  has 
the  same  air  as  that  of  a  Swiss  song. 

The  general  effect  not  merely  removed  any  bad  im- 
pression that  might  have  been  created  with  regard 
to  my  damaging  admission  about  the  sex  of  the  great 
ruler  ;  it  more  than  re-established  me  in  my  old  posi- 
tion, and  I  followed  up  my  success  by  assuring  them 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  357 

that  her  Majesty  included  in  her  retinue  of  servants 
a  greater  number  of  persons  than  was  represented  in 
the  whole  tribe  before  me.  Furthermore,  I  assured 
them  that  whilst  the  mountain  home  I  had  built  was 
very  large  (judged  by  their  standard),  the  house  of 
Queen  Victoria  was  big  enough  to  hold  a  whole 
nation  of  blacks. 

In  order  to  give  you  some  idea  of  the  nervous 
horror  I  had  of  losing  prestige,  I  may  tell  you  that, 
far  from  being  satisfied  with  what  I  had  done  to 
vindicate  the  great  Sovereign  whose  special  ambas- 
sador I  was  supposed  to  be,  I  soon  decided  to  give 
yet  another  demonstration  which  should  impress  even 
those  who  were  inclined  to  cavil — if  any  such  existed. 
I  pointed  out  that  whilst  the  Queen,  great  and  power- 
ful and  beloved  ruler  though  she  was,  could  not 
lead  her  warriors  into  battle  in  person,  yet  she  was 
represented  in  war  time  by  her  eldest  son,  who  was  a 
most  redoubtable  warrior  and  spear-thrower,  and  acted 
on  behalf  of  his  illustrious  mother  on  all  occasions 
when  she  could  not  appear.  But  as  mention  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  called  for  a  demonstration  of  his 
personality  also,  I  determined  to  make  another  ex- 
periment in  portraiture, — this  time  in  the  direction 
of  sculpture.  I  think  it  was  having  come  across  a 
very  damp  country,  abounding  in  plastic  clay,  that 
put  this  idea  into  my  head.  First  of  all,  then,  I  cut 
down  a  stout  young  sapling,  which,  propped  up  in  the 
ground,  served  as  the  mainstay  of  my  statue ;  and 
from  it  I  fastened  projecting  branches  for  the  arms 
and  legs. 

Round  this  framework  I  built  up  my  figure  with 
blocks  of  clay ;  and  at  length,  after,  perhaps,  three  or 


3  58   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

four  weeks'  industrious  modelling,  I  completed  a 
statue  of  his  Royal  Highness  which  measured  about 
seven  feet  six  inches  in  height.  The  body  and  limbs 
were  of  abnormal  development,  much  on  the  lines  of 
my  representation  of  his  august  mother.  Fuller 
details  would  be  interesting,  but  hardly  edifying. 
This  statue  I  "  unveiled  "  at  another  of  my  monthly 
receptions,  and,  judged  by  its  effect,  it  was  even  a 
greater  success  than  the  colossal  portrait  of  the 
Queen.  A  monster  corroboree  was  held  alongside  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  statue,  but,  unfortunately,  'he 
went  to  pieces  in  a  day  or  two,  when  the  fierce 
sun  beat  down  upon  the  clay,  ^and  cracked  it.  This 
gradual  disintegration  of  the  great  ruler's  deputy 
vastly  amused  the  blacks,  and  I  eventually  had  to 
hasten  the  Prince's  end,  lest  their  mirth  should  com- 
promise my  dignity. 

You  will  hardly  be  surprised  when  I  tell  you  that 
the  blacks  looked  to  me  for  everything.  I  was  judge, 
wonder-worker,  and  arbitrator.  Often  they  would 
pick  up  one  of  my  possessions,  and,  whilst  not  exactly 
coveting  it,  they  would  ask  for  one  like  it. 

Take,  for  example,  the  reed  flutes  which,  when 
played  by  me,  were  such  a  source  of  joy  to  the  blacks 
and  their  children.  Well,  I  was  soon  called  upon  to 
make  flutes  for  the  natives,  which  I  did  out  of  long 
reeds  ;  but  these  instruments  only  had  two  holes  in 
them  at  first,  as  the  blacks  could  not  play  them  when 
other  holes  were  added.  The  great  drawback  to  these 
flutes  was  that  the  reed  dried  very  quickly  and  became 
useless  for  musical  purposes ;  so  I  was  kept  pretty  busy, 
more  especially  as  I  did  not  want  to  create  jealousy 
by  refusing  some  and  gratifying  others. 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  359 

Although  the  immediate  country  in  which  I  estab- 
lished my  home  was  fertile  and  extremely  rich  in 
tropical  vegetation,  the  adjoining  ranges  were  in 
striking  contrast  to  it ;  many  districts  being  rugged 
and  slaty  and  painfully  difficult  to  traverse  on  foot. 
There  were,  however,  many  interesting  natural  curiosi- 
ties which  beguiled  the  time  in  travelling. 

Once  I  came  across  a  certain  kind  of  spider,  whose 
web  was  so  strong  and  thick  that  it  only  broke  under 
considerable  pressure  from  the  finger.  The  spider 
itself  was  fully  two  inches  or  three  inches  long,  and 
had  formidable  claws.  Inland  fishing,  too,  I  found 
extremely  interesting.  Of  course,  the  inland  blacks 
have  a  very  different  method  of  fishing  from  that 
adopted  by  the  coast  tribes.  Often  the  inland 
people  would  build  a  fire  on  the  banks  of  the  lagoon, 
and  throw  something  into  the  water  to  attract  the 
fish  to  the  surface.  When  the  fish  rose  they  would 
promptly  be  speared.  Some  of  them  weighed  as 
much  as  ten  pounds,  and  proved  excellent  eating. 
The  blacks  themselves  never  inquired  how  the  fish 
came  into  these  inland  holes  ;  it  was  enough  for  them 
to  know  they  were  there  and  were  good  eating.  The 
usual  fish-hooks  were  of  bone  ;  and  although  I  experi- 
mented with  hooks  of  gold  and  copper  I  found  them 
practically  useless,  and,  in  the  long  run,  reverted  to 
articles  of  native  manufacture.  In  a  certain  limestone 
country,  which  I  struck  in  the  course  of  my  wander- 
ings, I  discovered  some  extraordinary  caves  with 
water- holes,  in  which  blind  fish  existed.  They  cer- 
tainly had  indications  of  eyes,  but  these  were  hidden 
beneath  a  kind  of  permanent  skin  covering.  In  any 
case  they  would  have  had  no  use  for  eyes,  because 


36o  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

the  water-holes  were  situated  in  the  most  profound 
darkness.  In  other  caves  I  discovered  quantities  of 
extraordinary  animal-bones,  probably  of  prehistoric 
origin. 

If  I  have  omitted  to  mention  Bruno  in  connection 
with  every  incident  related  in  these  pages,  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  my  faithful  companion  did  not 
play  an  important  part  in  my  daily  life. 

He  was  always  with  me ;  but  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  he  was  now  growing  old,  and  the  natives 
around  me  were  by  no  means  so  keen  to  possess  him 
as  the  tribes  of  Carpentaria  had  been  in  the  days 
gone  by. 

All  kinds  of  extraordinary  incidents  befell  me 
whilst  on  the  *' walk-about."  Many  a  time  have  I 
been  deceived  by  mirage.  One  most  complete  de- 
ception befell  me  one  day  whilst  Yamba  and  I 
were  tramping  over  a  stretch  of  low,  sandy  country. 
Suddenly  I  fancied  I  descried  the  boundless  ocean  in 
the  distance,  and  with  my  usual  impetuosity  rushed 
frantically  forward  in  the  firm  belief  that  at  last  we 
had  reached  the  coast.  Yamba  explained  that  it  was 
only  a  mirage,  but  I  would  not  stay  to  listen,  and 
must  have  gone  miles  before  I  gave  up  in  disgust  and 
returned  to  my  patient  wife.  This  brings  me  to 
another  and  perhaps  still  more  extraordinary  illusion. 
One  day  whilst  Yamba  and  I  were  passing  through 
one  of  those  eternal  regions  of  sand-hills  and  spinifex 
which  are  the  despair  of  the  Australian  explorer,  I 
suddenly  saw  in  the  distance  what  I  was  certain  was 
2,  flock  of  sheep.  There  they  were  apparently — scores 
of  them,  browsing  calmly  in  a  depression  in  a  fertile 
patch  where  most  probably  water  existed. 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  361 

In  an  instant  the  old  desire  to  return  to  civilisation, 
which  I  had  thought  buried  long  ago,  reasserted 
itself,  and  I  dashed  forward  at  full  speed  yelling  back 
to  Yamba,  '*  Sheep,  sheep — where  sheep  are,  men  are. 
Civilisation  at  last  ! "  When  at  length  I  had  got  near 
enough  for  the  creatures  to  notice  me,  you  may  imagine 
my  disgust  and  disappointment  when  quite  a  little 
forest  of  tall  heads  went  high  into  the  air,  and  2l  flock 
of  emus  raced  off  across  the  country  at  full  speed. 
These  huge  birds  had  had  their  heads  down  feeding, 
and  not  unnaturally,  in  the  distance,  I  had  mistaken 
them  for  sheep. 

I  think  every  one  is  aware  that  prolonged  droughts 
are  of  very  common  occurrence  in  Central  Australia, 
and  are  mainly  responsible  for  the  migratory  habits 
of  the  aborigines — particularly  those  of  the  remote 
deserts  in  the  interior.  The  most  terrible  drought 
I  myself  experienced  whilst  in  my  mountain  home 
was  one  that  extended  over  three  3^ears,  when  even 
the  lagoon  in  front  of  my  dwelling,  which  I  had 
thought  practically  inexhaustible,  dried  up,  with  the 
most  appalling  results.  Just  think — never  a  drop  of 
rain  falling  for  over  three  long  years,  with  a  scorch- 
ing sun  darting  down  its  rays  almost  every  day ! 
During  this  terrible  period  the  only  moisture  the 
parched  earth  received  was  in  the  form  of  the  heavy 
dews  that  descended  in  the  night.  Even  these,  however, 
only  benefited  the  vegetation  where  any  continued  to 
exist,  and  did  not  contribute  in  the  slightest  degree  to 
the  natural  water  supply  so  necessary  for  the  susten- 
ance of  human  and  animal  life.  The  results  were 
terrible  to  witness.  Kangaroos  and  snakes;  emus 
and  cockatoos  ;  lizards  and  rats — all  lay  about  either 


362  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

dead  or  dying  ;  and  in  the  case  of  animals  who  had 
survived,  they  seemed  no  longer  to  fear  their  natural 
enemy,  man. 

Day  by  day  as  1  saw  my  lagoon  grow  gradually 
smaller,  I  felt  that  unless  I  took  some  steps  to  ensure 
a  more  permanent  supply,  my  people  must  inevitably 
perish,  and  I  with  them.  Naturally  enough,  they 
looked  to  me  to  do  something  for  them,  and  provide 
some  relief  from  the  effects  of  the  most  terrible 
drought  which  even  they  had  ever  experienced. 
Almost  daily  discouraging  reports  were  brought  to 
me  regarding  the  drying  up  of  all  the  better-known 
water-holes  all  round  the  country,  and  I  was  at 
length  obliged  to  invite  all  and  sundry  to  use  my 
own  all  but  exhausted  lagoon.  At  length  things 
became  so  threatening  that  I  decided  to  sink  a  well. 
Choosing  a  likely  spot  near  the  foot  of  a  precipitous 
hill,  I  set  to  work  with  only  Yamba  as  my  assistant. 
Confidently  anticipating  the  best  results,  I  erected  a 
crude  kind  of  windlass,  and  fitted  it  with  a  green-hide 
rope  and  a  bucket  made  by  scooping  out  a  section  of 
a  tree.  My  digging  implements  consisted  solely  of  a 
home-made  wooden  spade  and  a  stone  pick.  Yamba 
manipulated  the  windlass,  lowering  and  raising  the 
bucket  and  disposing  of  the  gravel  which  I  sent  to 
the  surface,  with  the  dexterity  of  a  practised  navvy. 
What  with  the  heat,  the  scarcity  of  water,  and  the 
fact  that  not  one  of  the  natives  could  be  relied  upon 
to  do  an  hour's  work,  it  was  a  terribly  slow  and 
wearying  business ;  but  Yamba  and  I  stuck  to  it 
doggedly  day  after  day. 

At  the  end  of  a  week  I  had  sunk  a  narrow  shaft 
to  a  depth  of  twelve  or  fourteen   feet,   and   then   to 


A   WATER   FAMINE 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES  365 

my  infinite  satisfaction  saw  every  indication  that 
water  was  to  be  found  a  little  lower  down.  In  the 
course  of  the  following  week  I  hit  upon  a  spring,  and 
then  I  felt  amply  rewarded  for  all  the  trouble  I  had 
taken.  Even  when  the  lagoon  was  perfectly  dry,  and 
only  its  parched  sandy  bed  to  be  seen,  the  supply 
from  our  little  well  continued  undiminished  ;  and  it 
proved  more  than  enough  for  our  wants  during  the 
whole  of  the  drought.  I  even  ventured  to  provide 
the  distressed  birds  and  animals  with  some  means 
of  quenching  their  insupportable  thirst.  A  few  yards 
from  the  well  I  constructed  a  large  wooden  trough, 
which  I  kept  filled  with  water ;  and  each  day  it  was 
visited  by  the  most  extraordinary  flocks  of  birds  of 
every  size  and  variety  of  plumage — from  emus  down 
to  what  looked  like  humming-birds.  Huge  snakes, 
ten  and  fifteen  feet  long,  hustled  the  kangaroos 
away  from  the  life-giving  trough  ;  and  occasionally 
the  crowd  would  be  so  excessive  that  some  of  the 
poor  creatures  would  have  to  wait  hours  before  their 
thirst  was  satisfied, — and  even  die  on  the  outer  fringe 
of  the  waiting  throng.  I  remember  that  even  at  the 
time  the  scene  struck  me  as  an  amazing  and  unprece- 
dented one,  for  there  was  I  doing  my  best  to  regulate 
the  traffic,  so  to  speak,  sending  away  the  birds  and 
animals  and  reptiles  whose  wants  had  been  satisfied, 
and  bringl"ng  skins  full  of  water  to  those  who  had 
fallen  down  from  exhaustion,  and  were  in  a  fair 
way  to  die.  As  a  rule,  the  creatures  took  no 
notice  whatever  of  me,  but  seemed  to  realise  in 
some  instinctive  way  that  I  was  their  benefactor. 
Of  course  I  had  to  cover  over  the  top  of  the 
well    itself,    otherwise    it    would   have    been    simply 


366  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

swamped  with  the  carcasses  of  eager  animals  and 
birds. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  why  did  I  take  the  trouble 
to  supply  everything  that  walked  and  flew  and 
crawled  with  water  when  water  was  so  precious  ? 
A  moment's  thought  will  furnish  the  answer.  If  I 
suffered  all  the  animals,  birds,  and  reptiles  to  die, 
I  myself  would  be  without  food,  and  then  my  last 
state  would  be  considerably  worse  than  the  first. 

I  think  the  snakes  were  the  most  ungrateful 
creatures  of  all.  Sometimes  they  would  deliberately 
coil  themselves  up  in  the  trough  itself,  and  so  prevent 
the  birds  from  approaching.  I  always  knew  when 
something  of  this  kind  had  happened,  because  of  the 
frightful  screeching  and  general  uproar  set  up  by  the 
indignant  birds — that  is  to  say,  such  as  had  the 
power  to  screech  left.  I  would  hurry  to  the  spot 
and  drag  out  the  cause  of  the  trouble  with  a  forked 
stick.  I  never  killed  him,  because  there  were  already 
enough  of  his  kind  dead  on  every  side.  The  very 
trees  and  grass  died  ;  and  in  this  originated  another 
almost  equally  terrible  peril  —  the  bush  fires,  of 
which  more  hereafter.  Talking  about  snakes,  one 
day  I  had  a  narrow  escape  from  one  of  these  ungrate- 
ful reptiles.  A  number  of  baby  snakes  had  swarmed 
into  the  trough,  and  I  was  in  the  very  act  of  angrily 
removing  them  when  I  heard  a  shout  of  horror  from 
Yamba.  I  swung  round,  instinctively  leaping  side- 
ways as  I  did  so,  and  there,  rearing  itself  high  in  the 
air,  was  an  enormous  snake,  fully  twenty  feet  long. 
Yamba,  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  aimed  a  tre- 
mendous blow  at  it  and  smashed  its  head. 

The  drought  was  productive  of  all  kinds  of  curious 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  367 

and  remarkable  incidents.  The  emus  came  in  great 
flocks  to  the  drinking-trough,  and  some  of  them  were 
so  far  gone  that  they  fell  dead  only  a  few  yards 
from  the  fount  of  life.  I  picked  up  a  great  number 
of  these  huge  birds,  and  made  their  skins  into  useful 
bed  coverings,  rugs,  and  even  articles  of  clothing. 
When  this  terrible  visitation  was  at  its  height  Yamba 
made  a  curious  suggestion  to  me.  Addressing  me 
gravely  one  night  she  said,  "  You  have  often  told  me 
of  the  Great  Spirit  whom  your  people  worship  ;  He 
can  do  all  things  and  grant  all  prayers.  Can  you 
not  appeal  to  Him  now  to  send  us  water  ? "  It 
was  a  little  bit  awkward  for  me,  but  as  I  had  often 
chatted  to  my  wife  about  the  Deity,  and  told  her  of 
His  omnipotence  and  His  great  goodness  to  mankind, 
I  was  more  or  less  obliged  to  adopt  this  suggestion. 
Accordingly  she  and  I  knelt  down  together  one  night 
in  our  dwelling,  and  offered  up  an  earnest  prayer  to 
God  that  He  would  send  water  to  the  afQicted  country. 
Next  morning  that  which  seemed  to  me  a  miracle  had 
been  wrought.  Incredible  though  it  may  appear,  all 
the  creeks,  which  until  the  previous  night  had  been 
mere  dry  watercourses  for  an  untold  number  of 
months,  were  rippling  and  running  with  the  much- 
needed  water,  and  we  were  saved  all  further  anxiety, 
at  any  rate  for  the  time.  There  may  be,  however, 
some  scientific  explanation  of  this  extraordinary 
occurrence. 

No  sooner  had  we  recovered  from  the  delight  caused 
by  this  phenomenally  sudden  change  than  the  rain 
came — such  rain  !  and  the  tremendous  tropical  down- 
pour lasted  for  several  weeks.  The  country  soon 
reverted    to    something    like   its   normal   appearance. 


368   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

The  bush  fires  were  extinguished,  and  even  my  lagoon 
came  into  existence  again. 

Talking  about  bush  fires,  we  often  saw  them  raging 
madl}^  and  sublimely  in  the  mountains.  They  would 
burn  for  weeks  at  a  stretch,  and  devastate  hundreds 
of  miles  of  country.  For  ourselves,  we  always  pre- 
pared for  such  emergencies  by  "  ringing  "  our  dwelling 
— that  is  to  say,  laying  bare  a  certain  stretch  of 
country  in  a  perfect  circle  around  us.  Often  we 
were  almost  choked  by  the  intense  heat  which  the 
wind  occasionally  wafted  to  us,  and  which,  combined 
with  the  blazing  sun  and  scarcity  of  water,  rendered 
life  positively  intolerable. 

I  now  wish  to  say  a  few  words  about  Bruno — a 
few  last  sorrowful  words — because  at  this  period  he 
was  growing  feeble,  and,  indeed,  had  never  been  the 
same  since  the  death  of  Gibson.  Still,  I  was  con- 
stantly making  use  of  his  sagacity  to  impress  the 
blacks.  My  usual  custom  was  to  hide  some  article 
(such  as  my  tomahawk),  near  the  house  in  Bruno's 
presence,  and  then  start  off  on  a  tramp  accompanied 
by  the  blacks. 

After  we  had  gone  a  few  miles  I  would  suddenly 
call  a  halt,  and  pretend  to  my  companions  that  I  had 
forgotten  something.  Then  I  would  order  Bruno  to 
go  back  and  fetch  it,  with  many  mysterious  whisper- 
ings. The  dear,  sagacious  brute  always  understood 
what  I  wanted  him  to  do,  and  in  the  course  of  perhaps 
an  hour  or  two  he  would  come  and  lay  the  article  at 
my  feet,  and  accept  the  flattering  adulation  of  my  black 
companions  with  the  utmost  calmness  and  indifference. 
Bruno  never  forgot  what  was  required  of  him  when  we 
encountered  a  new  tribe  of  blacks.     He  would  always 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  369 

look  to  me  for  his  cue,  and  when  he  saw  me  commence 
my  acrobatic  feats,  he  too  would  go  through  his  little 
repertoire,  barking  and  tumbling  and  rolling  about 
with  wonderful  energy. 

His  quaint  little  ways  had  so  endeared  him  to  me 
that  I  could  not  bear  to  think  of  anything  happening 
to  him.  On  one  occasion,  when  going  through  a 
burning,  sandy  desert,  both  he  and  I  suffered  terribly 
from  the  hot,  loose  sand  which  poured  between  our 
toes  and  caused  us  great  suffering.  Poor  Bruno 
protested  in  the  only  way  he  could,  which  was  by 
stopping  from  time  to  time  and  giving  vent  to  the 
most  mournful  howls.  Besides,  I  could  tell  from  the 
gingerly  way  he  put  his  feet  down  that  the  burning 
sand  would  soon  make  it  impossible  for  him  to 
go  any  farther.  I  therefore  made  him  a  set  of 
moccasins  out  of  kangaroo  skin,  and  tied  them  on 
his  feet.  These  he  always  wore  afterwards  when 
traversing  similar  deserts,  and  eventually  he  became 
so  accustomed  to  them  that  as  soon  as  we  reached 
the  sand  he  would  come  to  me  and  put  up  his  paws 
appealingly  to  have  his  **  boots  "  put  on  ! 

But  now  age  began  to  tell  upon  him ;  he  was 
getting  stiff  in  his  limbs,  and  seldom  accompanied 
me  on  hunting  expeditions.  He  seemed  only  to 
want  to  sleep  and  drowse  away  the  day.  He  had 
been  a  splendid  kangaroo  hunter,  and  took  quite  an 
extraordinary  amount  of  pleasure  in  this  pursuit.  He 
would  run  down  the  biggest  kangaroo  and  '*  bail 
him  up  "  unerringly  under  a  tree  ;  and  whenever  the 
doomed  animal  tried  to  get  away  Bruno  would  imme- 
diately go  for  his  tail,  and  compel  him  to  stand  at  bay 
once  more  until  I  came  up  to  give  the  coup  de  grace, 

2  A 


3;o  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 


Of  course,  Bruno  received  a  nasty  kick  sometimes  and 
occasionally  a  bite  from  a  snake,  poisonous  and  other- 
wise. He  was  not  a  young  dog  when  I  had  him 
first ;  and  I  had  now  made  up  my  mind  that  he  could 
not  live  much  longer.      He  paid   but  little  attention 

in  these  days  to 
either  Yamba  or 
myself,  and  in 
this  condition  he 
lingered  on  for  a 
year  or  more. 

One  morning 
I  went  into  the 
second  hut — 
which   we    still 


DEATH    OF    BRUNO 


called  Gibson's,  by  the  way,  although  he  had 
never  lived  there — when  to  my  dismay  and  horror 
(notwithstanding  that  Iwas  prepared  for  the  event), 
I  beheld  my  poor  Bruno  laid  out  stiff  and  stark 
on  the  little  skin  rug  that  Gibson  had  originally 
made  for  him.      I   do   not  think  I  knew  how   much  I 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF  371 

loved  him  until  he  was  gone.  As  I  stood  there, 
with  the  tears  coursing  down  my  cheeks,  all  the 
strange  events  of  my  wondrous  career  seemed  to  rise 
before  my  mind — events  in  which  poor  dead  Bruno 
always  took  an  active  part.  He  was  with  me  on  the 
wreck;  he  was  with  me  on  the  island  ;  .he  was  with 
me  in  all  my  wanderings  and  through  all  my  suffer- 
ings and  triumphs.  He  got  me  out  of  many  a  scrape, 
and  his  curious  little  eccentricities,  likes,  and  dislikes 
afforded  me  never-ending  delight.  But  now  he  was 
gone  the  way  of  all  flesh  ;  and  although  I  had  ex- 
pected this  blow  for  many  months,  I  do  not  think 
this  mitigated  my  poignant  grief.  Yamba,  too,  was 
terribly  grieved  at  his  death,  for  she  had  become 
most  devotedly  attached  to  him  and  he  to  her.  I 
rolled  the  body  of  the  faithful  creature  in  a  kind  of 
preservative  earth  and  then  in  an  outer  covering  of 
bark.  This  done  I  laid  him  on  a  shelf  in  one  of  the 
caves  where  the  wild  dogs  could  not  get  at  him,  and 
where  the  body  of  Gibson,  similarly  treated,  had  also 
been  placed. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

I  make  a  perambulator — Meeting  with  whites — A  dreadful  habit — The 
miracle  of  Moses — Preparing  a  demonstration — An  expectant 
audience — Yamba  growing  feeble — One  tie  snapped — Yamba's 
pathetic  efforts — Vain  hopes — Yamba  dying — Nearing  the  end — 
My  sole  desire — A  mass  of  gold — I  seek  trousers  and  shirt — An 
interesting  greeting  —  A  startling  question  —  Towards  Mount 
Margaret — The  French  Consul — I  reach  London. 

I  ALWAYS  felt  instinctively  that  any  attempt  at 
missionary  enterprise  on  my  part  would  be 
dangerous,  and  might  besides  afford  jealous  medicine- 
men and  other  possible  enemies  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  undermining  my  influence. 

Sometimes,  however,  when  all  the  tribe  was  gathered 
together,  I  would  bring  up  the  subject  of  cannibalism, 
and  tell  them  that  the  Great  Spirit  they  feared  so  much 
had  left  with  me  a  written  message  forbidding  all 
feasting  off  the  bodies  of  human  beings.  The  "  written 
message  "  I  referred  to  on  these  occasions  was  my  old 
Bible.  Of  course  the  blacks  failed  to  understand  its 
purport  as  a  book,  having  no  written  language  of  their 
own;  but  my  manner  and  words  served  to  impress 
them. 

My  natives  seemed  ever  to  manifest  the  keenest 
interest  in  the  accounts  I  gave  them  of  the  wonderful 
resources  of  civilisation ;  but  experience  showed  that 
I  must  adapt  my  descriptions  to  the  intellect  of  my 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   373 

hearers.  For  example,  I  used  to  tell  them  that  in  the 
great  cities  (^'camps  "  I  called  them)  there  was  never 
any  real  darkness  if  men  chose,  because  there  were 
other  lights  at  command  which  could  be  turned  off  and 
on  at  will.  The  most  effective  analogy  in  this  respect 
was  the  twinkling  of  the  stars  in  the  heavens ;  but  my 
hearers  were  greatly  amazed  to  think  that  such  lights 
could  be  under  the  command  of  man. 

The  blacks  had  long  since  put  me  down  as  a  great 
spirit  come  to  visit  them,  and  they  even  located  by 
common  consent  a  certain  star  in  the  heavens  which 
they  decided  was  at  one  time  my  home,  and  to  which 
I  should  eventually  return.  Every  time  I  made  a  false 
step,  I  had  to  devise  some  new  '^  miracle  "  by  way  of 
counterblast. 

On  one  occasion  I  actually  made  a  perambulator  for 
the  conveyance  of  children  !  It  was  the  very  first  time 
that  these  primitive  savages  had  seen  the  principle  of 
the  wheel  applied  to  locomotion,  and  it  passed  their 
comprehension  altogether.  With  childish  dehght  and 
an  uproar  that  baffles  all  description,  both  men  and 
women  almost  fought  with  one  another  for  the  honour 
of  pushing  the  crude  little  conveyance  about.  The 
perambulator  was  made  out  of  logs,  and  was  a  four- 
wheeled  vehicle  ;  the  rims  of  the  wheels  being  cut  from 
a  hollow  tree.  My  blacks  were  also  much  amazed  at 
the  great  size  of  my  mountain  home ;  but  their  won- 
derment increased  greatly  when  I  explained  to  them 
that  some  of  the  buildings  in  the  great  "  camps "  of 
the  white  man  were  as  large  as  the  hills,  and  much 
more  numerous. 

Elsewhere  I  have  spoken  of  the  extraordinary  sys- 
tem of  telegraphy  that  exists  among  the  blacks.    Well, 


374  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

in  the  early  eighties  news  began  to  reach  me  that 
numbers  of  white  men  had  appeared  in  the  north ; 
and  in  one  of  my  many  long  tramps  I  one  day  came 
upon  a  party  of  white  men  engaged  in  prospecting. 
I  speak  of  this  remarkable  meeting  thus  abruptly 
because  their  tent  met  my  gaze  in  the  most  abrupt 
manner  possible.     It  is  ever  so  in  the  Australian  bush. 


THE   PERAMBULATOR 


I  found  that  this  party  was  by  no  means  an  isolated 
one,  and  I  actually  stayed  in  various  camps  for  a  few 
days,  before  returning  to  my  mountain  home.  I 
need  hardly  remark  that  the  white  men  were  far  more 
astonished  to  see  me  than  I  was  at  meeting  them.  Of 
course  I  could  have  joined  them  and  gone  back  to 
civilisation,  but  this  I  would  not  do  without  my  native 
wife  and  family.  It  was  in  the  Kimberley  district  that 
I  met  these  parties  of  prospectors;    and  I  may  here 


AS  TOLD  BY  HIMSELF  375 

remark  that  I  had  for  some  time  been  aware  of  the 
existence  of  this  auriferous  region.  I  learned  after- 
wards that  the  Kimberley  was  geographically  the 
nearest  point  I  might  have  made  for  in  order  to  reach 
civilisation. 

When  I  settled  down  again  in  my  mountain  home 
I  soon  fell  into  my  old  way  of  living,  which  was  prac- 
tically identical  with  that  of  the  blacks,  save  that  I 
did  not  always  accompany  them  when  they  shifted 
camp.  Parties  of  natives  were  constantly  calling 
upon  me,  and  would  stay  perhaps  three  or  four  days 
at  a  time.  I  encouraged  these  visits,  and  invariably 
prepared  some  entertainment  for  my  guests, — even 
going  to  the  extent  of  providing  them  with  wives, 
according  to  native  custom.  But,  you  will  ask,  where 
did  I  get  wives  to  hand  round  in  this  convenient 
fashion  ?  A  very  interesting  question  this,  and  one 
which  requires  a  somewhat  lengthy  answer.  Now,  the 
blacks  do  not  look  upon  the  advent  of  a  female  child 
with  any  favour;  on  the  contrary,  they  frequently  get 
rid  of  it  at  once  in  order  to  save  themselves  the  trouble 
of  taking  it  with  them  when  on  the  walk-about. 

As  I  was  always  very  fond  of  children,  I  decided  to 
try  and  put  a  stop  to  this  dreadful  habit  of  child- 
murder,  so  I  made  it  known  far  and  wide  that  parents 
could  pass  their  girl-babies  on  to  me,  and  I  would 
rear  and  look  after  them.  The  result  of  this  widely- 
advertised  offer  was  that  I  soon  had  quite  an  orphan 
asylum  established — an  institution  which  was  valuable 
to  me  in  many  ways.  Quite  apart  from  the  satisfaction 
I  derived  from  knowing  I  had  saved  these  children 
from  a  terrible  death,  I  was  looked  upon  as  a  kind 
of  prospective  father-in-law  on  a  gigantic  scale,  and 


IjG      DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

young  men  came  from  all  parts  to  treat  with  me  for 
wives. 

As  I  have  said  before,  my  regular  reception  days 
were  held  at  the  new  moon. 

My  visitors,  as  well  as  my  own  people,  gradually 
grew  to  have  quite  a  reverence  for  the  Bible  ;  but  I 
am  afraid  it  was  not  on  account  of  the  sacredness  of 
the  book,  but  rather  owing  to  the  wonderful  things  it 
contained,  and  which  were  interpreted  by  me  in  such 
a  way  as  would  appeal  directly  to  the  primitive  minds 
of  these  people. 

Oftentimes  I  made  mistakes.  For  instance,  what 
seemed  to  interest  them  enormously  was  the  story  of 
how  Moses  struck  the  rock  and  obtained  a  miraculous 
supply  of  water.  Anything  in  the  way  of  fresh  water 
procured  in  the  desert  interested  them  keenly.  Only, 
unfortunately,  they  floored  me  by  asking  me  to  accom- 
plish a  similar  miracle  ! 

Another  Bible  story  which  brought  me  some  dis- 
comfiture was  about  Balaam  and  his  ass.  Now,  when 
I  decided  to  tell  the  story  of  Balaam,  I  knew  from 
experience  that  if  I  mentioned  an  *'  ass,"  that  animal 
would  require  all  kinds  of  tedious  explanation,  which 
would  probably  result  in  needless  mystification  and 
consequent  suspicion  ;  so  I  boldly  plunged  into  the 
story  of  Balaam  and  his  kangaroo  !  But  what  stag- 
gered the  blacks  altogether  was  that  Balaam's  kangaroo 
should  be  able  to  speak.  Now,  it  seems  that  a  talking 
animal  is  the  greatest  possible  joke  known  to  the  blacks, 
and  so  my  narrative  was  greeted  with  uproarious 
mirth  ;  and  my  ^*  impossible  "  story  even  spread  from 
tribe  to  tribe.  I  found  it  was  no  use  telling  the 
blacks  anything  they  could  not  readily  comprehend. 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  377 

One  day  I  told  them  about  the  destruction  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  by  fire  and  brimstone,  and  this 
again  landed  me  in  disaster,  for  I  was  promptly  asked 
how  could  any  one,  Great  Spirit  or  other,  burn  up  the 
stones  of  which  the  houses  were  composed  ?  And, 
of  course,  each  instance  of  this  kind  would  be  pounced 
upon  by  a  tribal  medicine-man  or  some  other  jealous 
enemy,  and  used  to  discredit  me.  A  few  days  after 
telling  the  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  story,  I  was  on 
a  walk-about  with  Yamba  in  my  mountain  region, 
when  I  suddenly  discovered  that  shale  existed  in 
very  considerable  quantities,  and  I  thereupon  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  demonstrating  to  the  blacks  that, 
not  only  was  the  Bible  narrative  a  true  one,  but  that 
it  was  quite  possible  to  ignite  stone  ;  and  I  would 
even  show  them  how  it  was  done  ! 

Aided  by  Yamba  and  other  members  of  my  family, 
I  constructed  an  immense  shaft-like  cairn,  mainly 
composed  of  loose  pieces  of  shale  intermixed  with 
sandstone.  I  put  in  the  sandstone  and  other  stones, 
partly  in  order  that  the  blacks  might  not  notice  the 
uniform  construction  of  the  cairn  ;  and  partly  also 
because  I  knew  that  when  the  ordinary  stones  were 
heated,  they  would  probably  burst  or  explode  with  a 
loud  sound,  and  so  terrify  the  superstitious  onlookers. 
The  cairn  was  about  fifteen  feet  high,  with  an  opening 
at  the  summit  and  other  small  openings  at  the  sides 
in  order  to  ensure  a  good  draught.  At  the  base  I 
left  an  opening  sufficiently  large  for  me  to  crawl 
through.  Then  I  placed  inside  a  quantity  of  inflam- 
mable material — such  as  wood  and  dry  bark  ; — and 
as  all  these  preparations  went  forward  in  a  very 
leisurely   manner,    my    monthly   reception    was    quite 


3/8   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

due  when  everything  was  ready.  Wishing  to  have 
an  exceptionally  large  gathering,  I  sent  out  invitations 
to  all  the  surrounding  tribes  to  come  and  see  my 
wonderful  performance  at  which  I  would  '^  set  fire  to 
the  rocks  and  stones." 

A  perfectly  enormous  crowd  assembled  at  the  time 
appointed,  for  my  previous  achievements  had  led 
the  black-fellows  to  suppose  I  had  some  marvellous 
manifestation  in  store  for  them.  Never  can  I  forget 
the  keenness  with  which  that  great  assembly  antici- 
pated the  entertainment  in  store  for  them.  And 
remember,  they  were  growing  pretty  blase  by  this 
time,  having  witnessed  so  many  miracles. 

In  the  twilight  of  the  evening,  when  the  murmur 
of  the  multitude  was  hushed,  I  crawled  cautiously 
into  the  cairn  (I  should  have  been  buried  alive  had 
it  collapsed),  and  at  once  commenced  operations  with 
the  flint  and  steel  and  tinder  which  I  had  taken 
care  to  leave  there.  In  another  minute  I  had  set 
fire  to  the  wood,  and  dry  material  that  filled  the 
bottom  of  the  shaft.  When  I  was  satisfied  that  it 
was  thoroughly  alight,  I  discreetly  withdrew  and 
joined  the  wondering  crowd,  which  I  had  forbidden 
to  approach  too  close.  Dense  clouds  of  smoke  were 
now  rolling  from  the  apertures  of  the  great  cairn, 
and  in  a  short  time  the  shaft  was  a  fierce  and  raging 
furnace,  with  the  ordinary  stones  red  hot  and  occa- 
sionally bursting  with  loud  explosions,  which  threw 
showers  of  glowing  slag  high  into  the  air. 

The  blacks  were  alrhost  paralysed  with  fear,  and 
many  of  them  threw  themselves  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  ignoring  the  hail  of  stones  that  fell  upon 
their    naked    bodies.      I     stalked    about    majestically 


SETTING   FIRE  TO   ROCKS  AND   STONES 


DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES   381 

among  them,  exulting  in  my  power  and  the  success 
of  my  manifestation.  The  big  cairn  burnt  for  many 
days  more  fiercely  than  even  a  stack  of  coal  would  do  ; 
and  I  never  ceased  to  wonder  that  the  blacks  them- 
selves had  not  long  ago  found  out  the  inflammable 
nature  of  the  "  stone." 

By  this  time  Yamba  could  speak  English  tolerably 
well,  but  we  did  not  invariably  use  that  language. 

Gradually  and  half  unconsciously  I  fell  into  the 
habit  of  speaking  the  native  tongue,  until  I  suddenly 
found  that  the  practice  was  obtaining  such  a  firm  hold 
upon  me  that  I  was  forgetting  French  altogether; 
whilst  it  was  only  with  difficulty  that  I  could  form 
grammatical  sentences  in  English.  I  soon  came  to 
the  conclusion,  therefore,  that  it  was  necessary  for  me 
to  hold  much  more  converse  in  English  than  I  had 
hitherto  done ;  and  from  the  moment  that  this  curious 
*'  scare  "**  suggested  itself  to  my  mind,  Yamba  and  I  and 
our  children  spoke  nothing  but  English  when  we  were 
by  ourselves  in  the  evening.  I  cultivated  my  know- 
ledge of  English  in  preference  to  any  other  language, 
because  I  knew  that  if  ever  we  should  reach  civilisa- 
tion, English  and  not  French  would  be  the  language 
spoken.  It  may  be  interesting  also  to  mention  that 
one  of  the  first  indications  I  had  that  I  was  losing  my 
English  was  an  inability  to  Ikznk  in  that  language. 

In  general  appearance  I  was  now  absolutely  like  a 
black,  and  wore  only  an  apron  of  emu  skin  as  a  pro- 
tection against  the  scrub  I  encountered  when  on  the 
walk-about.  In  the  ordinary  way  I  never  had  any 
marks  upon  me  with  the  exception  of  these  scratches. 
Of  course,  on  festive  occasions,  I  was  gaily  painted  and 
decorated,  and  no  doubt  I  would  have  been  initiated 


382   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

into  manhood,  and  borne  the  tribal  and  other  marks, 
were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  I  was  a  man  when  I  came 
among  the  blacks. 

It  is  obviously  impossible  for  me  to  record  minutely 
the  happenings  of  every  day,  mainly  because  only  the 
salient  incidents  stand  out  in  my  mind.  Besides,  I 
have  already  dealt  with  the  daily  routine,  and  have 
probably  repeated  myself  in  minor  details. 

A  constant  source  of  grief  to  me  was  the  weakly 
condition  of  my  two  children,  who  I  knew  could 
never  attain  mature  age.  And  knowing  they  were 
doomed,  I  think  I  loved  them  all  the  more. 

Yet  so  incomprehensible  is  human  nature  that  I 
often  found  myself  speculating  on  what  I  should  do 
after  they — and  Yamba — were  gone ;  because  by  this 
time  my  faithful  helpmate  was  growing  ominously 
feeble.  You  must  remember  that  when  I  first  met 
her  on  the  desert  island  she  was  an  oldish  woman, 
judged  by  the  native  standard ;  that  is  to  say,  she  was 
about  thirty. 

The  death-bed  of  my  boy  is  a  scene  I  can  never 
forget.  He  called  me  to  him,  and  said  he  was  very 
glad  he  was  dying,  because  he  felt  he  would  never 
have  been  strong  enough  to  fight  his  way  through  life, 
and  endure  daily  what  the  other  black  boys  endured. 
Therefore,  he  argued  wistfully,  and  half  inquiringly, 
he  would  only  be  a  burden  to  me.  He  was  a  very 
affectionate  and  considerate  little  fellow,  with  an  intelli- 
gence far  beyond  that  of  the  ordinary  aboriginal  child. 
He  spoke  in  English,  because  I  had  taught  both  him 
and  his  sister  that  language.  At  the  last  I  learned — 
for  the  first  time — that  it  was  always  worrying  him, 
and    almost  breaking  his   little   heart,   that   he  could 


AS  TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  383 

never  compete  with  the  black  boys  in  their  games  of 
strength  and  skill;  and  no  doubt  he  would  have 
become  an  outcast  were  it  not  that  he  was  my  son. 

Almost  his  last  whispered  words  to  me  were  that 
he  would  be  able  to  assist  me  more  in  the  Spirit-land 
than  ever  he  could  hope  to  do  in  the  flesh.  He  was 
perfectly  conscious  to  the  last,  and  as  I  knelt  down  by 
his  couch  of  fragrant  eucalyptus  leaves,  and  stooped 
low  to  catch  his  whispered  message,  he  told  me  he 
seemed  to  be  entering  a  beautiful  new  country,  where 
the  birds  always  sang  and  the  flowers  bloomed  for 
ever.  Spirit  voices  kept  calling  him,  he  said,  and  he 
felt  himself  being  irresistibly  drawn  away  from  me. 

Upon  my  own  feelings  I  do  not  wish  to  dwell.  All 
I  will  say  is  I  kissed  my  boy  on  the  eyes  and  mouth, 
and  then,  with  a  soft  ^*  Good-bye,  they  have  come  for 
me,"  he  closed  his  eyes  for  ever. 

I  felt  it  was  to  be.  A  few  days  afterwards  the  little 
girl,  my  remaining  child,  was  taken  ill,  and  so  feeble 
was  she,  that  she  soon  joined  her  brother  in  the  better 
land.  I  seemed  to  be  overwhelmed  with  misfortunes, 
but  the  greatest  of  all  was  yet  to  come.  I  have  hinted 
that  Yamba  was  beginning  to  show  signs  of  infirmity 
through  advancing  years.  I  could  not  help  noticing, 
with  a  vague  feeling  of  helpless  horror  and  sickening 
foreboding,  that  she  had  lost  her  high  spirits  and  keen 
perception — to  say  nothing  about  the  elasticity  of  her 
tread  and  her  wonderful  physical  endurance  generally. 
She  was  no  longer  able  to  accompany  me  on  the  long 
and  interesting  tramps  which  we  had  now  taken 
together  for  so  many  years.  Her  skin  began  to 
wither  and  wrinkle,  and  she  gradually  took  on  the 
appearance  of  a  very  old  woman.     The  result  of  this 


384  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

was  I  began  to  have  fits  of  frightful  depression  and 
acute  misery.  I  stayed  at  home  a  good  deal  now, 
partly  because  I  knew  the  country  thoroughly  and  no 
longer  cared  to  explore,  and  partly  also  because  I 
missed  the  companionship  and  invaluable  assistance 
of  my  devoted  wife.  I  constantly  buoyed  myself  up 
with  the  hope  that  Yamba  was  only  ailing  temporarily, 
and  that  her  enfeebled  condition  had  been  brought  on 
mainly  by  the  misfortunes  that  had  befallen  us  of  late. 
But  she  grew  more  and  more  feeble,  and  both  she  and 
I  knew  that  the  end  was  not  far  off.  Never  once, 
however,  did  we  allude  to  such  a  catastrophe ;  and 
whenever  I  fixed  my  eyes  earnestly  upon  her  in  the 
vain  hope  of  discerning  some  more  favourable  symptom, 
she  would  pretend  not  to  notice  me. 

I  would  sometimes  take  her  for  a  long  walk,  which 
was  really  much  beyond  her  strength,  solely  in  order 
that  we  might  delude  ourselves  with  vain  hopes.  And 
she,  poor  creature,  would  tax  herself  far  beyond  her 
strength  in  order  to  afford  me  a  happiness  which  the 
real  state  of  things  did  not  justify. 

For  instance,  she  would  run  and  leap  and  jump  in 
order  to  show  that  she  was  as  young  as  ever ;  but  after 
these  strange  and  pathetic  demonstrations  she  would 
endeavour  to  conceal  her  great  exhaustion. 

Very  soon  my  poor  Yamba  was  obliged  to  remain 
at  home  altogether;  and  as  she  grew  more  and  more 
infirm,  she  plucked  up  courage  to  tell  me  that  she  knew 
she  was  going  to  die,  and  was  rather  glad  than  other- 
wise, because  then  I  would  be  able  to  return  to  civilisa- 
tion— that  goal  for  which  I  had  yearned  through  so 
many  years.  She  pointed  out  to  me  that  it  would  not 
be  so  difficult  now,  as  I  had  already  been  brought  into 


AS   TOLD   BY   HIMSELF 


385 


contact  with  parties  of  white  men  ;  and,  besides,  we 
had  long  ago  had  news  brought  to  us  about  the  con- 
struction of  the  Trans-Continental  Telegraph  Line  from 
Adelaide  to  Port  Darwin.  No  sooner  had  she  spoken 
of  death  than  I  broke  down  again  altogether.  The 
thought  that  she  should  be  taken  from  me  was  so  cruel 
that  its  contemplation  was  quite  insupportable,  and  I 


'--■>'^:^yi:--^r 


AS   YOUNG    AS    EVER 


threw  myself  down  beside  her  in  a  perfect  agony  of 
grief  and  dread. 

I  told  her  I  did  not  mind  how  long  I  remained  among 
the  blacks  so  long  as  she  was  with  me ;  and  I  tried  to 
persuade  her,  with  all  the  eloquence  I  could  muster, 
that,  far  from  dying,  she  would  return  to  civilisation 
with  me,  so  that  I  might  spread  abroad  to  the  whole 

2    B 


386  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

world  the  story  of  her  devotion  and  her  virtues.  As 
she  continued  merely  to  smile  pityingly,  I  changed  my 
tone  and  dwelt  upon  the  past.  I  went  through  the  whole 
story  of  my  life,  from  the  time  she  was  cast  upon  the 
desert  island  in  the  Sea  of  Timor,  and  at  the  recital  of 
all  the  hardships  and  dangers,  joys  and  troubles,  which 
we  had  passed  through  together,  she  broke  down  also, 
and  we  wept  long  and  bitterly  in  one  another's  arms. 

By  this  time  she  had  become  a  convert  to  Christianity, 
but  this  was  entirely  a  matter  of  her  own  seeking.  She 
had  such  implicit  belief  in  my  wisdom  and  knowledge, 
that  she  begged  me  to  tell  her  all  about  my  religion 
in  order  that  she  might  adopt  it  as  her  own.  Like 
most  converts,  she  was  filled  with  fiery  zeal  and 
enthusiasm,  and  tried  to  soften  the  approaching  terror 
by  telling  me  she  was  quite  happy  at  the  thought  of 
going,  because  she  would  be  able  to  look  after  me  even 
more  than  in  the  past.  "  How  different  it  would  have 
been  with  me,"  she  used  to  say,  *^  had  I  remained  with 
my  old  tribe.  I  should  still  be  under  the  belief  that 
when  I  died  my  highest  state  would  be  to  be  turned 
into  an  animal ;  but  now  I  know  that  a  glorious  future 
awaits  us,  and  that  in  due  time  you  will  join  me  in 
heaven." 

Yamba  did  not  suffer  any  physical  pain,  nor  was  she 
actually  confined  to  her  bed  until  four  days  before  her 
death.  As  the  various  tribes  knew  the  love  and 
admiration  I  had  for  her,  the  fact  that  she  lay  dying 
spread  rapidly,  and  crowds  of  natives  flocked  to  my 
mountain  home. 

Widespread  sympathy  was  expressed  for  me;  and 
all  kinds  of  tender  consideration  were  evinced  by  these 
savages.     All  day  long  an  incessant  stream  of  women- 


AS  TOLD   BY   HIMSELF 


38 


folk  kept  coming  to  the  hut  and   inquiring   alter   my 
dying  wife. 

It  seemed  to  be  Yamba's  sole  anxiety  that  I  should 
be  well  equipped  for  the  journey  back  to  civilisation. 
She  would  rehearse  with  me  for  hours  the  various 
methods  adopted  by  the  black-fellows  to  find  water; 
and  she  reminded  me  that  my  course  at  first  was  to  be 
in  a  southerly  direction  until  I  came  to  a  region  where 
the  trees  were  blazed,  and  then  I  was  to  follow  the 


GOOD-BYE,    MY   HUSBAND,    I    AM    GOING' 


track  that  led  westward.  She  had  elicited  this  in- 
formation for  me  from  the  blacks  with  remarkable 
acuteness. 

These  last  days  seemed  to  pass  very  quickly, 
and  one  night  the  dying  woman  had  a  serious 
relapse.  Hitherto  she  had  always  addressed  me  as 
"Master,"  but  now  that  she  stood  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Shadow  she  would  throw  her  arms  about  my 
neck   and   whisper   softly,   "Good-bye,    my  husband. 


388   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

Good-bye,    I    am    going — going — going.     I    will    wait 
for  you — there." 

For  myself  I  could  not  seem  to  realise  it.  Some- 
times I  would  rise  up  with  the  sole  intention  of  finding 
out  whether  this  frightful  thing  was  or  was  not  a 
ghastly  dream.  Then  my  memory  would  go  back  over 
the  long  years,  and  every  little  instance  of  unselfish- 
ness and  devotion  would  rise  before  my  mind.  As 
I  looked  at  the  prostrate  and  attenuated  form  that  lay 
silent  on  the  couch  of  eucalyptus  leaves,  I  felt  that  Hfe 
was  merely  the  acutest  agony,  and  that  I  must  imme- 
diately seek  oblivion  in  some  form  or  the  other,  or  lose 
my  reason.  It  seemed,  I  say,  impossible  that  Yamba 
could  cease  to  be.  It  seemed  the  cruellest  and  most 
preposterous  thing  that  she  could  be  taken  from  me. 

Frantically  I  put  my  arms  around  her  and  actually 
tried  to  lift  her  on  to  her  feet,  begging  of  her  to  show 
how  robust  she  was  as  in  the  days  of  yore.  I 
whispered  into  her  ears  all  the  memories  of  the  past, 
and  the  poor  creature  would  endeavour  to  respond  with 
a  series  of  feeble  efforts,  after  which  she  sank  back 
suddenly  and  breathed  a  last  pitiful  sigh. 

Language  is  utterly  futile  to  describe  my  horror — 
my  distraction.  I  felt  as  I  imagined  a  man  would  feel 
after  amputation  of  all  his  members,  leaving  only  the 
quivering  and  bleeding  trunk.  I  felt  that  life  held  no 
more  joy,  no  more  hope ;  and  gladly  would  I  have 
welcomed  death  itself  as  a  happy  release  from  the 
wretchedness  of  living.  In  my  delirium  of  grief  I  often 
besought  the  repulsive  savages  about  me  to  spear  me 
where  I  stood. 

Upon  this  subject  I  can  dwell  no  more,  because  of 
what  followed    I   have  only  the   vaguest   recollection. 


AS   TOLD    BY   HIMSELF  389 

For  days  I  seemed  to  live  in  a  kind  of  dream,  and  was 
not  even  sure  that  the  people  I  met  day  by  day  were 
real  beings.  As  to  my  awful  loss,  I  am  sure  I  did  not 
realise  it.  What  I  did  realise,  however,  was  the 
necessity  for  immediate  action.  Like  a  dream  to  me 
also  is  the  memory  of  the  sincere  grief  of  my  blacks 
and  their  well-meant  endeavours  to  console  me.  The 
women  kept  up  a  mournful  howl,  which  nearly  drove 
me  crazy,  and  only  strengthened  my  resolve  to  get 
away  from  that  frightful  place.  So  dazed  did  I  be- 
come, that  the  blacks  concluded  some  strange  spirit 
must  have  entered  into  me. 

They  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted  that  I  left  all 
arrangements  for  the  funeral  to  them ;  the  sole  idea 
that  possessed  me  being  to  complete  my  arrangements 
for  the  great  journey  I  had  before  me.  I  told  the 
natives  frankly  of  my  intention,  and  immediately  forty 
of  them  volunteered  to  accompany  me  on  my  travels 
as  far  as  I  chose  to  permit  them  to  come.  I  readily 
accepted  the  kindly  offer,  partly  because  I  knew  that 
alone  I  should  have  gone  mad ;  and  partly  also  because 
I  instinctively  realised  that  with  such  a  bodyguard  I 
would  have  nothing  to  fear  either  from  human  foes  or 
the  tortures  of  thirst. 

I  left  everything.  I  cut  off  my  long  hair  with  my 
stiletto  and  distributed  it  among  the  natives  to  be 
made  into  bracelets,  necklaces,  and  other  souvenirs ; 
and  then  I  departed  with  little  ceremony  from  the 
place  where  I  had  spent  so  many  years  of  weird  and 
strange  exile.  Most  of  my  belongings  I  gave  away, 
and  I  think  I  turned  my  back  upon  my  mountain  home 
with  little  or  no  regret.  My  dress  consisted  solely  of 
the  usual  covering  of  emu  skin ;  whilst  attached  to  a 


390  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

belt  round  my  waist  were  my  tomahawk  and  stiletto. 
My  bow  and  arrows  were  slung  over  my  shoulder. 
Day  after  day  we  marched  steadily  on,  precisely  as 
though  we  were  on  a  walk-about.  The  conditions  of 
the  country  were  constantly  changing,  and  I  came 
across  many  evidences  of  its  natural  richness  in 
minerals — more  particularly  gold. 

One  day  as  we  were  all  resting  near  the  base  of  a 
rock,  which  was  a  kind  of  huge  outcrop  from  the  plain, 
I  began  idly  to  chip  the  stone  with  my  tomahawk. 
Suddenly  the  edge  glanced  aside,  revealing  a  bright, 
shining,  yellow  metal.  I  sprang  to  my  feet  in  astonish- 
ment, and  realised  in  a  moment  that  this  great  mass 
of  rock  was  auriferous  to  an  enormous  degree,  and 
there  was  one  gigantic  nugget,  spread  out  tentacle- 
wise  in  it,  which  if  removed  would,  I  am  sure,  be  as 
much  as  a  couple  of  men  could  carry. 

Week  after  week  passed  by,  and  still  we  continued 
our  southward  march.  In  time,  of  course,  my  com- 
panions returned  to  their  own  country ;  but  so  leisurely 
had  our  progress  been  that  I  had  ample  time  thoroughly 
to  ingratiate  myself  with  other  tribes, — so  that,  as  usual, 
I  went  from  tribe  to  tribe  practically  armed  only  with 
my  own  knowledge  of  the  savages  and  my  invaluable 
repertoire  of  tricks.  In  the  course  of  months  I  came 
upon  the  blazed  or  marked  trees,  and  then  struck  due 
west. 

Very  few  incidents  worth  recording  befell  me,  and  I 
kept  steadily  on  my  way  for  eight  or  nine  months.  At 
last — at  last — I  came  upon  unmistakable  signs  of  the 
proximity  of  ''civilisation  ";  for  strewn  along  the  track 
we  were  now  following  were  such  things  as  rusty  meat- 
tins  ;  old  papers ;  discarded  and  very  much  ant-eaten 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  391 

clothing ;  tent-pegs ;  and  numerous  other  evidences  of 
pioneer  Hfe.  One  day,  about  noon,  I  espied  an  en- 
campment of  tents  500  or  600  yards  ahead  of  me,  and 
I  promptly  brought  my  men  to  a  halt  whilst  I  went 
forward  a  little  to  reconnoitre.  Curiously  enough,  the 
sight  of  these  tents  did  not  cause  me  any  great  emotion. 
You  see,  I  had  met  prospectors  before  in  the  Kimberley 
region,  and  besides,  I  had  been  looking  for  these  tents 
so  long  from  the  time  I  first  came  across  the  evidences 
of  civilisation  aforesaid,  that  my  only  surprise  was  I 
had  not  reached  them  before.  Walking  about  were 
Europeans  in  the  usual  dress  of  the  Australian  pro- 
spector. Suddenly  a  strange  feeling  of  shyness  and 
hesitancy  came  over  me.  Almost  stark  naked  and 
darkened  as  I  was — a  veritable  savage,  in  fact — I 
realised  I  could  not  go  and  introduce  myself  to  these 
men  without  proper  clothing.  I  knew  the  value  of 
caution  in  approaching  so-called  civilised  men,  having 
had  bitter  experience  with  the  Giles  expedition.  Re- 
turning to  my  blacks,  I  told  them  that  at  last  I  had 
come  up  with  my  own  people,  but  did  not  want  to  join 
them  for  some  little  time  yet.  Then  I  selected  a  couple 
of  my  companions,  and  explained  to  them  that  I  wanted 
some  white  man's  clothing. 

I  instructed  them  to  creep  quietly  into  the  camp,  taice 
a- pair  of  trousers  and  shirt  that  were  hanging  outside 
one  of  the  tents,  and  bring  back  these  articles  to  me. 
They  undertook  the  commission  with  evident  dehght, 
but  when  they  returned  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes 
they  brought  only  the  shirt  with  them;  the  trousers, 
it  seemed  having  been  removed  no  doubt  by  the  owner, 
a  few  minutes  before  they  arrived.  My  blacks  were 
intensely  amused  when  I  donned  the  shirt ;  and  con- 


392   DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

sidering  that  this  was  practically  the  only  article  of 
wearing  apparel  I  possessed,  I  have  no  doubt  I  did  cut 
a  very  ludicrous  figure.  Then  came  another  difficulty. 
I  reflected  I  could  not  possibly  go  and  show  myself 
among  these  white  men  wearing  one  of  their  own  shirts. 
Finally  I  decided  to  bid  farewell  then  and  there  to  my 
escort,  and  continue  my  march  alone  until  I  reached 
another  encampment. 

In  the  course  of  another  day  or  so  I  reached  a  second 
camp.  Into  this  I  decided  to  venture  and  explain  who 
I  was.  Before  taking  this  step,  however,  I  rubbed  off 
all  the  clayey  coating  on  my  skin,  trimmed  my  hair  and 
beard  to  a  respectable  length  by  means  of  a  firestick, 
and  threw  away  my  bow,  which  was  now  my  only 
remaining  weapon;  then  I  marched  boldly  into  the 
camp.  Some  five  or  six  bronzed  prospectors  were 
seated  at  supper  round  the  fire  in  front  of  the  tent  as  I 
approached ;  and  when  they  caught  sight  of  me  they 
stared,  astounded  for  the  moment,  and  then  burst  into 
laughter,  under  the  impression  that  I  was  one  of  their 
own  black  servants  playing  some  joke  upon  them. 
When  I  was  but  a  few  yards  away,  however,  I  called 
out  in  English — 

"  Halloa,  boys  !  have  you  room  for  me  ?  " 

They  were  too  much  taken  aback  to  reply  immedi- 
ately, and  then  one  of  them  said — 

"Oh  yes;  come  and  sit  down." 

As  I  seated  myself  among  them  they  asked — 

"  Have  you  been  out  prospecting  ?  " 

*^Yes,"  I  said  quietly,  "and  I  have  been  away  a 
very  long  time." 

"And  where  did  you  leave  your  mates?"  was  the 
next  question. 


AS   TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  393 

''  I  had  no  mates,"  I  told  them.  "  I  undertook  my 
wanderings  practically  alone. 

They  looked  at  one  another,  winked,  and  smiled 
incredulously  at  this.  Then  one  of  them  asked  me  if 
I  had  found  any  gold. 


"halloa,    boys!     HAVIi   YOU    ROOM    FOR    ME?' 

I  said,  ''  Oh  yes,  plenty  of  gold,"  and  then  the  next 
query — a  most  natural  one — was,  **Well,  why  have 
you  not  brought  some  of  the  stuff  back  with  you  ? 
How  far  have  you  travelled  ?  " 

I  told  them  I  had  been  tramping  through  the  heart 
of  the  Continent  for  eight  or  nine  months,  and  that 
I  had  no  means  of  carrying  nuggets  and  quartz  about 


394  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

with  me.  But  this  explanation  only  served  to  renew 
their  merriment,  which  reached  its  climax  when,  in  an 
unguarded  moment,  I  put  a  question  which  I  had  been 
burning  to  ask — 

'*  What  year  is  this  ?  " 

*^  This  is  Bellamy's  '  Looking  Backward '  with  a 
vengeance,"  cried  one  of  the  prospectors — a  sally  that 
was  heartily  appreciated  by  the  whole  of  the  company, 
with  the  exception  of  myself.  I  began  to  think  that 
if  this  was  the  reception  civihsation  had  for  me,  it 
were  better  for  me  to  have  remained  among  my  faithful 
savages. 

But  in  a  few  minutes  the  men's  demeanour  changed, 
and  it  was  obvious  that  they  looked  upon  me  as  a 
harmless  lunatic  just  emerged  from  the  bush.  I  was 
assured  that  this  conclusion  was  correct  when  I  saw 
the  diggers  looking  at  one  another  Significantly  and 
tapping  their  foreheads.  I  resolved  to  tell  them  nothing 
further  about  myself,  well  knowing  that  the  more  I  told 
them  the  more  convinced  they  would  be  that  I  was  a 
wandering  lunatic.  I  learned  that  these  men  were  a 
party  of  decent  young  fellows  from  Coolgardie.  They 
offered  me  a  meal  of  tea  and  damper,  and  pressed  me 
to  stay  the  night  with  them,  but  I  declined  their 
hospitality.  I  gratefully  accepted  a  pair  of  trousers, 
but  dechned  the  offer  of  a  pair  of  boots,  feeling  certain 
that  I  could  not  yet  bear  these  on  my  feet.  My  rough 
benefactors  told  me  that  I  should  find  many  other 
camps  to  the  south  dud  west ;  so  I  wandered  off  into 
the  bush  again  and  spent  the  night  alone. 

My  next  move  was  in  the  direction  of  Mount 
Margaret ;  and  along  the  road  which  I  traversed  I  came 
across  an   interesting  variety  of  picks,   shovels,   and 


AS    TOLD    BY    HIMSELF  395 

other  mining  tools,  which  had  evidently  been  discarded 
by  disappointed  prospectors.  I  decided  not  to  enter 
this  town  but  to  go  round  it;  then  I  continued  my 
tramp  alone  towards  Coolgardie  and  thence  to  Southern 
Cross. 

After  working  for  some  time  in  the  last-named  town 
(my  impressions  of  ^'  civilisation  "  would  make  another 
whole  book),  I  made  my  way  to  Perth,  the  capital  of 
Western  Australia.  In  Perth  I  was  advised  that  it 
would  be  better  for  me  to  go  to  Melbourne,  as  I  would 
stand  a  much  better  chance  there  of  getting  a  ship  on 
which  I  might  work  my  passage  to  Europe.  Accord- 
ingly I  proceeded  to  Melbourne  as  soon  as  I  could, 
and  the  only  noteworthy  incident  there  was  my  humo- 
rous interview  with  the  French  Consul.  I  addressed 
that  dignified  functionary  in  execrable  French,  telling 
him  that  I  was  a  French  subject  and  wanted  to  be  sent 
back  to  Europe.  I  bungled  a  great  deal,  and  when 
my  French  failed  I  helped  myself  out  with  English. 
The  Consul  waited  patiently  till  I  had  finished,  strok- 
ing his  beard  the  while,  and  looking  at  me  in  the  most 
suspicious  manner. 

"  You  claim  this  because  you  are  a  Frenchman  ? " 
he  said. 

"That  is  so,"  I  replied,  involuntarily  relapsing  into 
English  once  more. 

^'Well,"  he  said  coldly,  as  he  turned  away,  "the 
next  time  you  say  you  are  a  Frenchman  you  had  better 
not  use  any  English  at  all,  because  you  speak  that 
language  better  than  I  do." 

I  tried  to  argue  the  point  with  him,  and  told  him  I 
had  been  shipwrecked,  but  when  I  went  on  to  explain 
how  long  ago  that  shipwreck  was,  he  smiled  in  spite 


396  DE  ROUGEMONT'S  ADVENTURES 

of  himself,  and  I  came  away.     From  Melbourne  I  went 
to  Sydney,  and  from  Sydney  to  Brisbane. 

About  May  1897,  I  found  myself  in  Wellington, 
New  Zealand,  where  I  was  advised  1  stood  an  excellent 
chance  of  getting  a  ship  to  take  me  to  England.  I  sailed 
in  the  New  Zealand  Shipping  Companj^'s  WaikatOj  and 
landed  in  London  in  March  i 


THE  END 


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